The Mystics
by Akkiko
Summary: The Bladebreakers, DBoys and Majestics have been stranded on an island in Siberia, compliments of Mr. Dickinson, not only that they’ve been stranded with 3 other girls, and until they learn teamwork, no one is getting off. Boys, meet Akkiko, Kat and Meg.
1. Plane Crash?

Chapter 1

Akkiko pranced around the airport, skipping and doing some sort of jig. Her raven hair was done into a braid and reached her waist, sea green eyes sparkled with a familiar gleam of mischief and her lean body was clothed in black jeans, red shirt, and a black sort of coat that reached her ankles, black finger-less gloves were on her hands that had some sort of brown leather over the knuckles, and she had a slightly impish look with her pointed ears and slightly pointed nails.

"We're going to Japan! We're going to Japan!" She sang.

"Akkiko . . . shut up!" Kat, who was standing next to her snapped. Her shoulder length slightly dirty blonde hair was straight and cut in an even fashion. Her stern face was somewhat attractive but would be even more pretty if she tried smiling she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a black shirt that went down to her knees, and a pair of bracers on her hands. Grayish blue eyes were staring at the dancing girl with a bit of amusement. Her nails were even sharper then Akkiko's.

"Aw, whatever Katsup." She said grinning. Kat glared.

"Akkiko?"

"Yeeeeeeeeees?"

"You die."

"EEP!"

"Hey, hey, hey!!" Meg called from where she was standing at the counter talking to a clerk. "No bloodshed here! You'll have plenty of time to kill each other on the plane." She grumbled. Then she banged her head on the counter. "13 freaking hours. . . ."

"Say HELLLLLOOOOO to the jet lag!" Akkiko cried cheerfully.

"Akkiko?"

"Yeah Meg?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing Meg."

"Would you please . . . . SHUT THE HELL UP??" She snapped glaring. Akkiko eeped and fled to hide behind Kat who glared. Meg sighed, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder she growled. Her hair was tied into a ponytail with multiple hair bands and reached her ankles. She had wrist bands on her . . . well . . . wrists. A creamy white shirt was accompanied with a green hoodie with a low neckline. Matched with teal colored jeans she was very impatient looking. At the moment, all three were trying to get ready to board their plane to Japan. Back to our story!

"So any idea who sent these?" Akkiko asked looking at her ticket.

"No clue, I still find it odd that these just suddenly showed up on our doorstep." Kat said wryly looking at her own ticket. Meg nodded.

- Flashback -

"Kimiko Cimatura! Get down from there this instant!" A voice shrieked.

"Will you chill out mother? It's just a tree!"

"A lady does not sit in a tree!" Her mother cried back, there was a sigh.

"Yes mother." Akkiko grumbled and dropped from the tree with ease. The woman sighed heavily.

"Now, there is a dinner party tonight, you will stay in your room and busy yourself with your studies, understood? A lady must be-"

"Properly educated so that she may serve her betters. Get real." Akkiko said dully. "This is the 21st century last time I checked." Her mother ignored her.

"Ridiculous! To have a child like you as a descendant of the noble Cimatura knight!" Akkiko rolled her eyes as her mother started to ramble.

'Why can't they just accept me for me? Why do I always have to be perfect? It's not fair.' Kimiko Cimatura, Akkiko to her friends thought. She came from a noble line, one with a large line of history and culture, her father was a rich man through his work of stocks, her mother an expert on manipulation, yet they were so old fashioned.

"My lady?" A voice said calmly. Akkiko grinned.

"Hey Ryan." She said cheerfully jogging up to him. "Whatcha got for me today?" She asked cheerfully. He chuckled and handed her a package.

"This was delivered just now, says it's to Kimiko. That's all it said." Ryan said with a tiny wink and started off. Akkiko shrugged. Tearing open the letter she began to read.

To the reader

In two weeks time, there will be a plane leaving for Japan-

---

"You must be on this plane if you wish to find destiny?" Katherine Muller asked dully. "Signed anonymous- oh for the love of!" Kat cried in exasperation. "Could you POSSIBLY get ANY cheesier?!" She demanded airily. Dain shrugged, his silk shirt falling over his body nicely. Her father was an infamous doctor who was famed for his expert abilities and sure hands, her mother was a lawyer, sadly, neither had much time for their children, and Dain being only her half brother, they weren't too close. She had been slightly neglected as a child, by all three. The result, she was quiet and usually spoke only when spoken to, knowing her thoughts and comments would be ignored if she offered them. Dain sighed and gave a tiny yawn.

"Anyway, I'm off to soccer practice don't wait up." He said dully and walked off. Kat shook her head, not even remotely worried, why should he? Heck, she could be gone for 3 months and they probably wouldn't notice! So, why not? Why not go to Japan and have some free time to herself. Her studies were aced, 99 core average, and that's only because she loathed Language Arts and was passing with only 97. All others she had a whopping hundred. She simply couldn't see the point of poetry and story writing. That was it, her mind made up she went off to her room and started to pack. No big deal, it was only a week right? She looked at her ticket again.

"Now I wonder-"

---

"Who sent this?" Magoto Satsuka said dully looking at the envelope. "Hmm, spend a week in Japan, free of charge."

"Meg!!" A voice cried, Meg turned and smiled.

"What is it baby?" She asked as her little sister Erin ran in.

"I got my report card!" Meg winced a bit. Erin shouldn't be eager to show her, she should be showing their father, but as always, her father was out on patrols with his squad in the army. Her mother dead, and they living off her inheritance, which was quite a large sum, her being a descendant of the Emperor of Japan. They were very well off, but as their mother dead, and father always gone, Meg had been solely responsible for the raising of her little sibling. And the result, her sister had known nothing but happiness while Meg had her childhood stripped away.

"That's great baby!" She said hugging her sister. "What did you get?" She asked cheerfully. Her sister eagerly showed her.

"An 86 core average! Way to go hun! But what do we always want to do?" She asked teasingly.

"Get better! Always work hard and someday you'll be rewarded." Erin piped off obediently and with a huge grin.

"Good girl." Meg replied. "Now it's late, go take a bath and I'll see you to bed, okay?"

"Okay Meg!" She said cheerfully and ran off. Meg stared after her.

'I can't go, I have to look out for my sis.' She thought dimly. Suddenly the phone rang, she went to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Magoto!"

"Oh, hello Mr. Dickinson. How can I help you?" The man chuckled. "Nothing, though my granddaughter is somewhat lonely. I heard from one of your friends that you received a trip ticket and was hoping that I could watch Erin for you while you were gone." Meg stared skeptically at the phone.

"Meg dear? Is that alright?"

"Y-yes Mr. Dickinson. Thank you."

"No problem dear. Have fun with Kimiko and Katherine." He said calmly and hung up. Meg stared again, Kimiko and Katherine? What did they have to do with this?

- End -

And so, that's how it all started. Meg had just finished registering when there was suddenly a mass of cheering. All three girls turned.

"Wow! You're hot Kai!"

"Can I have your autograph Tyson?"

"Its the Majestics! They're so cool!"

"I love you Johnny!"

"Here come the Demolition Boys, you're all so cute!"

"I LOVE you Tala! You're my favorite!" The three immediately gagged as the three teams walked up to the flight. Tyson was grinning and accepting the praise with a grin, Ray just nodding and smiling, Max laughing, Kenny blushing, and of course, Kai being impatient simply pushed the girls aside. Did I say push? Too gentle a term, he was shoving them aside. The Majestics were half and half, Johnny and Robert ignoring, Enrique and Oliver laughing. The Demolition boys however, were 100 venomous glares which sent the fans running off.

"Those guys are on the plane? Oh god." Kat said dully while rolling her eyes. Akkiko smirked.

"They don't look so tough." Meg sighed.

"Whatever." She turned back and finished with a nod, then boarded the plane after the three teams, Kat and Akkiko followed, and all three were completely ignorant of the fact, that besides them, they were the only other passengers to board next to the three teams.

---

Tyson settled into the chair comfortably.

"13 hours eh? Well, this'll be fun. Of course, not everything has it's perks." Tyson said dimly staring at the Demolition Boys who were blatantly ignoring him.

"I wonder why Mr. Dickinson gave us these tickets." Robert said softly while talking to Johnny.

"Heh, that old guy has always been off his rocker."

"You got that right Johnny." Enrique said from behind. Then suddenly perked up.

"Hey, who are those babes?" He asked nudging Oliver who also turned to look. Akkiko groaned.

"Great, we're sitting with those teams." She groaned. Kat ventured no reply, she herself was feeling queasy. Meg sat down, next to Kai, Kat next to Tala, and Akkiko in between Johnny and Enrique. As was ordained by their tickets.

"Hey Kat, this ought to be good! You'll never guess, Meg is afraid of flyi- Kat?" Akkiko stopped in the mid-sentence to notice that Kat was trembling and gripping the hand rest a little too tightly.

"Er- Kat? You okay?" It suddenly hit her. "You're afraid of flying too?!" Kat scowled.

"I'm not afraid of flying, I just don't like flying in airplanes!" She shrieked.

"Oh my god. . . we're all going to die. . ." Meg whispered, face whiter then a sheet. Akkiko chuckled.

"My god, what cowards."

"Memo to self, when we land I'm going to pummel you Akkiko." Kat growled out.

"Well, that's IF we land. You know, we might crash, or the plane could get hijacked, or-"

"ENOUGH!! ENOUGH!!" They screeched. Akkiko laughed.

"I love this."

- 5 hours later -

Tala kept shooting death glares at Kat, until she finally freaked and snapped at him.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT??" She demanded. Tala shrugged and looked away, Ian snickered.

"Touchy little wench aren't you?"

KER-SMACK!

Kat smacked Ian upside the head. Meg kept glancing at Kai nervously, she felt like he was going to bite off his head. Creepy, although all he had done since take-off was sit there, eyes closed and arms folded, how could he sleep?! Tyson's snoring was enough to kill. Akkiko however . . .

"Enrique!" Johnny hissed nervously. Enrique looked up from his novel.

"Yeah?"

"HELP!" He hissed again, Enrique looked and saw that Akkiko had her head on Johnny's shoulder, and was snoozing away. He grinned.

"Cute." And went back to reading.

"ENRIQUE!" Johnny snapped, Akkiko giggled a bit and because of the lack of an armrest, sidled down to let her head rest in his lap. He flushed.

---

It had been a grand total of 10 hours when Kai noticed something.

"I want you guys on guard." Kai said softly. Tyson turned.

"Why?"

"We're not flying to Japan." He replied quietly. "We're somewhere over Siberia."

"What?" Max hissed.

"This isn't a normal airplane route, something's up." He hissed, all of a sudden, the airplane's lights went out and only the pathway lights were left on.

"What's going on?" Robert demanded. Akkiko snapped her eyes open. Suddenly the airplane's cockpit door slammed open.

"We've hit a leak! This plane is going down!" The pilot said and handed parachutes to everyone. "The rip cord is on the right shoulder strap. Now, you three teams, pick a girl and we'll send you out!" Tala glared.

"We want the blond girl."

"Huh?" Kat asked blushing.

"You're the only one whose doesn't spend her time wasting energy on annoying activities."

"HER with YOU guys?!" Akkiko shrieked. "NO WAY! You're taking me! Final!" Akkiko snapped without thinking, and that's when the pilot nodded, opened a side door and pushed out the boys. Akkiko gulped, went to the door and sighed.

"Oh well, here I go. JURANIMO!!" She cried and jumped out leaving a stunned group.

"Next!" The Majestics went without question, leaving Meg and Kat to stare. Suddenly Meg gave a wicked grin, and pushed Kat out too.

"MEG! I'M GONNA KILL YOOOOOUU!!" She shrieked as she fell. Meg grinned.

"Just you guys and me." Meg said easily.

"Okay, last jump spot!" The pilot cried. Tyson gulped.

"Oh man. . ." He took a deep breath, and jumped, Max, being well trained in this area, followed suit, as did Ray, Kenny, and Kai, Meg also took a deep breath, and was about to jump, when . . .

"WATCH OUT! TURBULENCE!" The plane jarred and sent her careening out the door.

---

"OW! FRICK!" Was heard as Akkiko landed running, she tripped over a branch and flew face first into the ground. As the parachute fell over her she groaned. Damn that hurt.

"Hey, wench. You alive?" A voice called.

"Hopefully not, then we won't have to deal with her." Another voice commented dryly.

"Nice try." Akkiko groaned and sat up staring around. Oh shit.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF HEAVEN WAS I THINKING?? WHY DID I HAVE TO GET STUCK WITH YOU??" Akkiko shrieked. Silence. Ian cleaned out his ear wincing.

"Damn she has good lungs, I'll give her that." He groaned. Bryan frowned. These next few days, weeks, months, whatever were going to be hell. Tala scowled.

"I knew I wanted the blonde haired girl." He muttered.

"HER NAME IS KAT!! SHE HAS A NAME!! IT ISN'T BLONDE HAIRED GIRL!!"

"Owww, okay, okay." Spencer grumbled.

---

Meg landed with a fwump. But that's not all she landed with, or should I say ON, a certain glaring team captain.

"EEP!" She squeaked and clambered off him. Kai scowled, standing up, he brushed himself off and continued with his stoic mood. Meg groaned.

"Now he's gonna hate me, why did I have to land on the grumpmeister?" Max giggled.

"It could be worse." He said pointing. "You could be like Tyson."

"Ha, ha. Very funny Max, NOW WILL SOMEONE GET ME OUT??" He demanded. His parachute had gotten caught . . . on a tree branch. Ray laughed as Tyson was left dangling. Tyson, needless to say, was not happy.

---

Kat swore she would kill Meg, since she had been pushed out, shock had hit her, and she didn't remember to pull the chord, until it was a little too late. The result, when she had landed, fire shot up her ankle and most likely, she had sprained it. Enrique grinned when he saw her land.

"Hey! Looks like we're all stuck here huh?" He asked jogging up. Kat groaned.

"Yeah. Yay." She mumbled. Attempting to stand, and only managing to yelp in pain and fall again. Oliver came over, a worried look on his face.

"Are you alright?" He asked leaning in to look at her ankle. It had now indeed swollen. Kat groaned.

"I dunno." She grumbled. Robert sighed and kneeled down, picking her up in a bridal fashion.

"HEY! Wha-?!"

"It is almost dark and we need to find suitable shelter." Robert interrupted her.

"And you are clearly in no condition to walk. So, deal with it." Johnny snapped. Kat groaned.

'Great, I'm stuck with the snooty guys, aw man . .'

Disclaimer: I do not own, only plot and myself, Kat owns herself, Meg the same. And Erin belongs to Meg, or herself, Dain belongs to Kat, and I own all the OC characters.


	2. Adjusting

Chapter 2

Akkiko was the first to spot something.

"Hey! It looks like there's some sort of cave over there!"

"So what wench? What's so special about cave?" Ian demanded. Akkiko skipped down from the tree and glared.

"And how many caves do you know that have coverings over the opening?!" She snapped. Ian shut up. Tala walked over to her.

"It has a covering?"

"Yes, obviously man made." Akkiko replied dimly. Tala nodded.

"We'll head there." Brian and Spencer nodded before moving on. Akkiko rolled her eyes.

"Why thanks Akkiko!

Oh no problem guys!

No really, we appreciate it!

Oh you're welcome! I was happy to-"

"Hey wench! Stop talking to yourself and get over here!" Ian snapped. Akkiko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Jerks." She grumbled and started off after them.

---

"Well, certainly not my choice, but preferable to the outside." Ray said calmly looking around the cavern. Meg nodded. She sighed.

"Geez, what time is it?" Tyson paused from pulling twigs from his hair a while to glance at his watch.

"Uh, 7:30pm." He declared and went back to pulling leaves and sticks from his bush of hair. Meg sighed.

"Well, none of us have eaten for a while, anyone hungry?"

"Uh . . . ." Was the unanimous reply. Meg grinned.

"Okay, first, lets scout out this place." She said motioning to the cave.

"No prob!" Max said and dived into the cave.

"Hey!" He called out after a few moments. "There's some stuff back here!" He declared, the group ran up. Indeed, there were sleeping-bags on the ground, a small area that had a sound like water dripping that was surrounded by a black screen, impossible to see through, and multiple lanterns. There were also a few chests in the back. As well as one little one off to the side. Meg was the first to see the letter, she grabbed it off of the little chest and read it aloud.

---

"Dear Katherine (AN: It will be Kimiko and Magoto for the others.)

As I am sure you are well aware, all this was a set up. I felt that you needed to experience life as a real teenager, and thus, so did the team you are with. I hope you aren't too angry, there are sleeping bags for you all that should be warm enough to help you throughout the Siberian summer." Kat snorted.

"He calls this Summer." She said dryly.

"Just finish reading it." Johnny snapped.

"The chests contain items necessary for your survival, such as hunting equipment, toiletries, and the small chest is for you my dear, containing personal female items. You and your friends have all been put at separate locations, once we are convinced that you have succeeded in your task of working as a team and such, we shall take you off the island and back to your families."

---

"Signed, Mr. Dickinson." Akkiko raised her eyebrow. Then looked at the D-boys, teamwork . . . with them? And until they got teamwork they were stuck here? Akkiko groaned.

"We're gonna be here forever." She mumbled.

---

"Aw man, you gotta be kidding me." Tyson moaned. Meg sighed.

"First off, we need to cook something, then everyone's spirits will be higher. Tyson, can you get water? Max, you can get firewood. Ray will help Kenny set out the sleeping-bags, and Kai can go hunting, since I think he's the only one that can. I'll start with dinner." She said automatically taking charge. Tyson nodded and grabbed a bucket, Max was already out the door and Kenny was fumbling with the ties on the rolls. Ray having a little more success. Kai had already headed for the chest, there was a sudden click and everyone paused to look at Kai who loaded a shot-gun. Meg rolled her eyes.

---

Kat did not like the idea of those guys with guns, it wasn't exactly healthy you know. She could almost imagine what Akkiko would be saying about her team with guns.

'Oh, that's real smart. Give the heartless bad guys weapons of death.' Kat shook her head.

"Well, sad to say, I can't cook." She grumbled. Robert nodded.

"You will walk around on that ankle, it's the best way to test if it's broken, and if not, then most likely bruised and we'll have to get it moving again. Oliver can cook." Oliver grinned.

"Sure thing Robert." He said with a courteous bow.

"Enrique, you'll get some firewood and water, Johnny, since you'll barely do any menial labor without complaint, will set up the sleeping-bags. I shall do the hunting." Johnny opened his mouth to complain, before thinking and shutting it. He went to do as bid, Kat and Enrique had already started out the door, once they were outside, Kat found her ankle wasn't as bad as she thought. Suddenly, Enrique put his arm around Kat's waist winking.

"So cutie, how does it feel to know you'll be spending the next month or two with me?"

". . . . . do you want to keep your arm?"

"Er. . . . yeah."

"Then remove it from my waist before I rip it off." Enrique pulled his arm away quickly.

---

Akkiko was returning with the water, she hadn't been happy when she learned the boys would get guns.

'Oh, that's real smart. Give the heartless bad guys weapons of death.' She had thought. Tala and Ian had already returned with the hunting carcass and the wood. Brian was lounging in the back of the cave and Spencer was leaning against the wall. Akkiko had to hand it to them, they were efficient. Suddenly she noticed something in the pot. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"What . . . . is . . . . that?" She asked in shock. Tala growled at her. "Oh my god, please tell me that isn't . . . or was SUPPOSED to be food?" She demanded. Ian snapped.

"Shut up wench!" Akkiko shook her head.

"That's it, hey, Ice cube, take this." She said and dropped the water pail on Brian who barely caught it.

"Okay boys, you need help." She said dimly and took the pot off the fire. "Fire top, you get to rinse this out, Bean pole, fix the fire, this . . . . . stuff put half of it out. Shorty can look for more wood, obviously we're going to need it, and Ice Cube, you can go prepare more of that carcass. Good god you people all need help." She grumbled and went for the chest to look for more provisions. When she was met with silence, she turned around and glared.

"Well?"

"What . . . . the heck did you just call us?" Ian demanded. Akkiko sighed. "Okay, Ian, Shorty, Tala, Fire top, Spencer, Bean Pole, Brian, Ice cube. Okay?!" She demanded irritably. Good god . . . Ian nearly protested when Tala silenced him with a look.

"Just do what she says." He ordered and went to rinse out the pot. Ian scowled.

"Fine . . . ."

---

Tyson grinned while rubbing his stomach.

"Great food! You're an awesome cook- what was your name?" He suddenly asked. Meg chuckled.

"Meg."

"Well, it was really good." Max declared.

"Yeah, I've never had stuff quite like it." Ray put in.

"It was alright." Kai said stiffly. Kenny giggled.

"If you got Kai to make a comment, it was good." He put in.

"Okay, since Meg cooked, I'll take care of the dishes." Max said standing up.

"I'll help." Kenny declared setting down his laptop. Kai made no sound, but stood up to grab the pot. Tyson nodded and went off to get more firewood, leaving Meg stunned.

"Hey, kind of nice when I don't have to do anything." She said smiling and leaned against the wall, feeling very comfortable.

---

"Thanks for helping." Oliver said.

"Well, I haven't done anything yet so it's only fair." Kat replied as she took the dried dishes and put them in a basket. With the last of the dishes done, the two stood.

"So, how's your ankle?" Oliver asked gently.

"It's better, I think I only sprained it lightly."

"Yeah, that was pretty lucky." He commented.

"It was. You know Oliver . . ."

"Yes?"

"No offense, but you're different from the others." He looked surprised.

"Really? How so?"

"Well, you're not so . . . . snobby as them, I mean, they've just been treating me like it's still the 15th century." She said dully.

"They've been nice. They've been a whole lot nicer to you actually then most people."

"Huh?"

"It's because of two reasons. One, you're obviously from a high-class, the way you carry yourself, the way you talk, it's obvious. And two, because you're female, and since we're all knights, it's our duty to treat females in an elegant manner." Kat stared, someone actually paid attention to her? To all the little details? Awing.

"I . . . . . thank you I guess." She murmured turning a bright red. Oliver smiled.

"You're welcome."

---

Akkiko grumbled.

"Geez, you'd think it was medieval ages, where women only cooked, cleaned, and had sex with men when they wanted to." She hissed as she grabbed the dishes and put them into a basket to be washed. She was doing the washing of course.

"My god, the wench talks to herself." Ian said from his place by the fireside.

"Shut it shorty." She snapped and walked off to the river to clean these. Tala hesitated for a moment, before sighing and rising to his feet. Brian, Spencer and Ian all stared at him confused as he followed Akkiko out. Akkiko was already at the river and grumbling, muttering to herself.

"Stupid . . . . morons! . . . . .Sexist jerks . . ." She grumbled, then shrieked when someone put a hand on her shoulder and nearly fell into the river. She was saved only when someone yanked her back by looping his hand around her waist and pulling her to the safety of the hard ground. Akkiko landed on Tala with a;

THUD!

She groaned.

"Where am I?" She demanded looking up. Then paled.

"Get off me idiot." Tala snapped. Akkiko scrambled to obey.

"Oops, sorry Tala." She muttered red faced. "But you shouldn't have sneaked up on me like that!" She declared. Tala shook his head in exasperation and grabbed one of the dishes and started cleaning it. Akkiko, was momentarily shocked. Then she kneeled down next to him and began to clean her own.

"Um . . . thanks Tala."

"Hn."

---

Meg sighed and yawned.

"Let's call it a night." She said wearily setting down her cards. Tyson nodded and set down his cards as well.

"Yeah, it's pretty late." Max agreed already gathering the cards. Meg smiled lightly.

"G'night guys."

"Night Meg."

"I'll keep the first watch." Kai said dimly. Tyson nodded.

"I'll take second." Ray volunteered.

"Third." Max piped up.

"Forth I guess." Tyson muttered yawning.

"I'll take the last." Meg said with a nod, then stumbled off towards the sleeping bags that were set out.

"Sleep close together, there will be more body warmth that way." Kai ordered, then took his position next to the fire, a shotgun close by his side. As Meg climbed into her bag, she smiled softly to herself.

'No big responsibilities . . . it's nice. Really nice.'

"Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"I . . . . I just thought I'd say that . . . I'm glad to be here. Even if I freeze to death in this weather, I'm glad to be here. . . . with all of you." The Bladebreakers all turned in their bags to look at Meg who was hidden by her sleeping bag, they exchanged glances before looking back at Meg. What did she mean?

---

"Night guys."

"Good night Kat." Robert responded dimly as Kat crawled into her bedroll.

"Oh, Enrique." Kat began. The boy looked up.

"Yeah?"

"Don't get any ideas." She said, and for the first time in her life, teased a boy. Enrique gave a mock pout.

"Awwww." Kat chuckled.

"Good night."

"Sleep well." Oliver finished.

"Oh, and you guys?"

"Yes?" Robert responded.

"Thank you." And with that she buried her head under the covers. The Majestics all traded confused looks. Why was she thanking them?

'Thank you for listening to me and . . . being my friends I suppose.' Kat thought as she drifted off into sleep.

---

'Here if comes.' Akkiko thought dimly as she finished arranging the sleeping bags. 'They're gonna say it's not good enough, or that I can't do anything, or say I'm so stupid or something.' She bit her lip and scowled.

'Will not cry. Goddamit, I thought I was over this, 15 years of this from my parents, I thought I'd built up a barrier. God f---ing dammit.' She swore silently as the D-boys approached. Akkiko braced herself and didn't turn to look at them. Silently, to Akkiko's surprise, they all chose a sleeping bag and there was a moment of silence before Ian snapped;

"What? Do you plan to sit there all night and think? Get to bed wench." He said grumpily and disappeared under the covers. Akkiko was shocked.

"You did well today." Tala commented roughly before heading for his own on the far corner. He paused before adding; "For a woman." Akkiko looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Did . . . did you just say 'good job' to me?" she whispered. Tala sighed and turned to look at her.

"I believe I just did- what's wrong with you now?" He demanded. Akkiko smiled and tackled him around the waist in a sort of awkward hug.

"THANK YOU!!" Tala stumbled and shot a confused look at his teammates, who, by the looks of their confused faces, were just as surprised as he was.

'For some reason . . . it feels so good to hear that.' Akkiko thought smiling as she released Tala and started apologizing and laughing.

Disclaimer: I own OC characters and plot, nothing else. Well, except Meg, and except Kat . . . . and I'm not sure if I own the plot . . . . or myself . . . eep!


	3. Attack

Chapter 3

Kat woke up to the sound of talking.

"No."

"But-!"

"NO!"

"But I-!"

"No Enrique." Robert said firmly. Kat shook her head to clear the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Huh? What's going on?" Kat mumbled blearily. Robert shook his head.

"This debate is over. Put it back later, understand?"

"Alright, alright. Is it so bad to be worried over the health of a friend?" Robert didn't respond as he walked over to Kat.

"How's your ankle? Is it feeling better?" Kat slipped out from beneath the bedroll and touched her ankle gingerly, then squeezed it a bit tighter.

"Yeah, it feels much better." She said brightly and stood up slowly. Pulling on a sweater around her, she nodded at him.

"Need me to do anything?"

"Well, unless you are hungry, no. Oliver, Enrique and myself aren't much in the mood for breakfast." Kat nodded.

"Neither am I, I'll go get water then."

"Alright." And with that Kat jogged out of the cave.

---

Akkiko wiggled a bit in her sleeping bag, her mind groggily registered one fact.

'My pillow has a heartbeat. . . cool. WAITAMINUTE! My pillow has a heartbeat . . . there's something wrong with that sentence . . . think Akkiko think. Pillow . . . heartbeat . . eep!' Suddenly her eyes snapped open as she realized she was cuddling against something. No, not something, someone. She looked up hesitantly, and then . . . .

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

---

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" sounded from far away. Kat raised her head from the stream.

"That's funny, I could swear that almost sounded like Akkiko." She said dimly, then returned to her bucket of water. Damn fish, stop swimming in!

---

"Owww, I think I lost my hearing abilities." Brian said scowling while clapping his hand to his ear repeatedly.

"Sorry Brian . . ." Akkiko mumbled while flushing a bright red.

"So let me get this straight, the wench crawls into Brian's sleeping bag, supposedly UNINTENTIONALLY." Akkiko shot Ian a glare which he ignored. "She wakes up, finds out what she's done, shrieks so loud that they MUST have heard it in America, and does this . . . right into Brian's ear?" Brian nodded while still clapping his hand to his ear. Ian snickered. "Ouch. Like I said, she has damn good lungs. I give her that." Brian shook his head.

"I think I'm okay." He grumbled.

"You sure?" Spencer asked.

"Huh? Did you say something Tala?" Brian asked dimly. Tala rolled his eyes.

---

"I still say I heard a scream earlier." Tyson said dimly as he pushed aside branches and made his way down the path. Ray chuckled.

"I dunno, maybe you heard a wild animal." He teased.

"Shove off." Tyson grumbled, and stopped at the river. "I wonder where Meg vanished off to." Tyson voiced aloud as they reached the river, Ray kneeled down on the bedside. "She said she was going to come back with water, only-"

"Never did." Ray finished dipping his pail into the water.

"Godamn f'ing wolf!" They suddenly heard someone snarl.

"Hey. . . . didn't that sound like-?"

"Meg. Oh boy." Ray muttered and set his pale down, creeping over towards the bush area, he brushed some aside and raised his eyebrow at the oddest scene ever. Meg sat in a tree clutching the trunk while she threw a few pine cones at a wolf that was growling.

"Go away!" Meg snapped angrily. Ray sighed.

"Obviously, she's never trained with animals."

"Obviously." Tyson smiled with a roll of his eyes, then stepped out of the bushes whistling. "Here boy. Come'ere." He smiled and clapped his hands in an encouraging gesture.

"Tyson-? HEY! GET ME DO-!"

"SHHH!" Tyson hissed. Then turned his attention back to the wolf. Pulling something from the back of his pocket, he waved it in front of the wolf's nose, which was now two inches away from his hand. The wolf sniffed it curiously, before licking it's lips, revealing bright fangs. Tyson smiled.

"Fetch!" And threw it far away, deep into the woods. The wolf bounded after the food and vanished into the bushes.

"You can come down now Meg." Ray called stepping out. "Nicely down Tyson." The teen shrugged.

"It's a gift." Meg climbed down, then hugged Tyson in a half glomp.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!" She said cheerfully. Tyson blushed.

"Erm, sure thing Meg. No problem."

---

"Hey woman, go get some water. Spencer, go with her, I don't want her falling in like last time." Tala said dimly as he poked the fire.

"ALMOST Tala, I ALMOST fell in." Akkiko snapped angrily.

"Yeah, if Tala hadn't been there, you WOULD have fallen in." Ian gloated. She gave him a rude gesture before grabbing the pail and stomping out of there. Spencer rolled his eyes and followed. Down the long path to the river, Akkiko swore, cursed, and grumbled about every swear she could, including ones in Japanese, French, Russian, and Irish. Spencer raised his eyebrow.

"Fluent in languages are we?" Akkiko looked away, her scowl falling into a troubled frown.

"My mother made me. Oban . . ." She muttered. Spencer raised his other eyebrow. He himself had studied a bit about Japanese language, that was quite the oath she had just uttered. "Anyway, she was never satisfied with my performance. She wanted me to be perfect. . . always, so she had me learn Japanese, French, Russian, Irish, and University level English. But she didn't want to stop there, soon she was signing me up for lessons in Greek, Cree, Mandarin and Spanish. By that time I was fed up with all of that crap. So, I didn't go. Every time there was one of my lessons, I ran off until well after the lesson ended, then come home, get a lecture about punctuality and get grounded to my room for weeks. Eventually my mother got wise and stopped wasting money on the lessons." She sighed heavily and started a jog.

"Come on, at this rate, we'll be lucky to get back before sun down." Spencer paused for a moment, watching the girl jog down the road, then shook his head, shifted his blade launcher which was pinned to his back, and started after her.

---

Meg sighed happily as she leaned against the wall.

"You know, this is nice, not having anything to do, or think about. It's really nice. Even if we are stuck here, I'm enjoying myself, almost makes me wish I could stay here forever but . . ." She chuckled. "Gotta look after Erin." She murmured dimly, looking down sadly. Tyson blinked as he added a couple of twigs to the fire.

"Erin? Whose that?" Meg started, then looked at him. She was silent for a moment, before chuckling again.

"She's my baby sister."

"Well . . .can't your mom or dad look after her for a while? Max asked as he cleaned and oiled the guns.

"My mom is dead, and my dad . . ." She shook her head when Max tried to apologize for opening old wounds. "My dad is a sergeant in the army, he never has time for me anymore, my mom did most of the raising for me, and when she died, Erin was only 1. I was left to take care of my sister, I've never had much time for anything else. I even had to get home schooling." She chuckled softly. Tyson was silent for a moment.

"Sorry." Meg shook her head again and looked up.

"It's nothing. I'm really alright with it, I mean, well, I get to spend time with my sister, and I guess my dad never lectures me like others." She gave a forced laugh.

'In truth, I would do anything just to have father pay attention to me.' She thought sadly. Tyson looked at her with an understanding glance behind his long bangs.

"I guess." He commented softly.

---

Kat sighed dimly. Having nothing to do but sit around and think was getting boring. She looked up and hopped down from the rock she had been resting against. The teen had gone outside to get some fresh air, the cave was getting stuffy. So she walked inside, pushing the curtain over the cave entrance aside, she was about to head for her stuff, when she saw Enrique suddenly slam the trunk of her personal items shut.

"Uh. . . hey Kat!" He said cheerfully, trying to mask his look of guilt. Kat raised her eyebrow, why would he go through tampons, pads and bras? Unless. . .

"Oh my god you really are a pervert. I thought you just liked to be a player but holy shit." She muttered. Enrique sweatdropped.

"Wha-?! NO! I was just-!"

"What?" She asked dimly frowning.

"Uh . . . looking for some soap! We ran out and Johnny wants to take a shower. You know how that guy is." Enrique said giving a laugh. Kat sighed.

"Whatever. Just stay out of my stuff." She growled and walked past him. Enrique gave a sigh of relief as she did.

'God, I'm glad she didn't find out what I had.' He thought dimly, looking after her fading back, he gave a sigh. 'I guess we have a lot in common Katherine Muller.' He thought. 'A LOT in common.' And the one odd thing about that thought? Kat never told the Majestics her full name.

---

Akkiko sighed as she bent down to fill the bucket. She was staring at the surface of the water with frustration, when she noticed something. Bending down to peer at it, she could have sworn she just say a shadow in the water. Narrowing her eyes, she frowned thoughtfully.

'What is that? Too big to be a fish, way to small to be a whale, besides, this is a river. What would a whale be doing here? Much less a dolphin. She straightened a bit and was about to call Spencer over to take a look when there was a gigantic sound that sounded like a crack of lightening. Light flashed in her eyes as she yelped in surprise. Looking at the creature that now stood on the surface of the water, her eyes widened in terror as she took a sharp intake of breath.

'Not this . . . I can handle anything but . . . not this!' She thought in panic as the color drained from her face. The huge animal stood on the water, it's body glowing an eerie black light. She tried to crawl away on her back, only to find she was frozen, paralyzed by fear.

"Oh god . . ." She whispered hoarsely as the creature advanced. The animal gave a low growl, then leapt at her, baring it's claws. She shut her eyes and shrieked.

"SPENCER!!!!"

Disclaimer: I do not own, only plot, and myself. Kat herself, Meg same. The end. Not of the story! Just of the disclaimer. 'kay, now it really is the end. Of the disclaimer! Not the- oh forget it.


	4. Akkiko's day

Chapter 4

Spencer smiled at his kill.

'This should feed us for a tonight.' He thought stonily. Heading back towards the river, with the rabbits slung over his shoulder, his rifle in his other hand, he walked slowly.

'The girl had better be done.' He thought in exasperation as he brushed leaves from his way.

"SPENCER!!!!" A sudden scream tore through his thoughts, it was Akkiko. And she sounded like she was scared shitless. In a split second Spencer dropped the rabbits and ran down the path till he reached the river. There, Akkiko was sitting frozen, she was close to hysteria, and he saw why.

"WHAT THE F--- is that?!" Spencer demanded leveling his gun at the giant dragon. It was a deep and solid red, with a bit of tinted gold over the edge of its scales. It's tail was long and flicking back and forth, it's gaze intent on the girl. With its hind legs tense and his forepaws bearing claws it leaped at Akkiko who rolled off to the side, and barely avoided the thing's attack. Striking the tree, its claws ripped halfway through the trunk before bounding off and swiveling around to attack again. Spencer leveled his gun at the dragon and fired. Nothing, the bullets hit the monster, vanished into its body and didn't reappear. Swearing, Spencer dropped the gun and ran towards the beast.

'It looks like a bitbeast almost. If that's the case, there's only one thing I have that'll work.' Spencer thought as he readied his launcher. Akkiko tried to get to her feet, only to stumble and trip as the dragon lashed out with it's tail, sending her flying into a tree. A gash opened on her arm. She cried out in surprise and pain falling to her knees. The dragon reeled, ready to deliver a killing blow.

"SEABORG!!" a voice suddenly interrupted. The dragon was suddenly swept aside as a tidal wave came crashing down on it.

Do not interfere! A voice hissed. Spencer gaped.

"Where-?! Who-?!" He had no more time to think as the dragon opened its mouth, but unlike movies where fire usually comes out, a darkness came in its place. The black shadow was shaped like fire, and its searing heat was identical, the only difference was its color, and the fact that anything it touched died on the spot, plants wilted, leaves brushed by the quickly spreading fire turned brown. And some primal instinct told Spencer that Seaborg would die if the darkness got to it. And though later Spencer would realize he was worried for his bitbeast, right now he was in shock.

'Stop being so pathetic.' Akkiko hissed at herself mentally. There was a sudden crash as the rest of the D-boys came crashing through the trees.

"What is going on?!" Tala demanded, before seeing the giant dragon, Akkiko who looked frozen with fear, he then noticed Spencer, one of those under his command, needed help.

"Brian! Ian!" He called, the two swung out their launchers and yanked the rip-chord out. Tala followed suit and soon, all four blades were fighting against that thing. Akkiko struggled to her feet.

'Dammit, they'll be killed.' She closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. 'This is the only way. I have to bring him back.' She released the breath and leaned against a tree, before standing straight, if a little shaky. Taking another deep breath she tried to calm her nerves. Holding up her hands she focused, trying to go as fast as she could as the bitbeasts dodged the attacks. Her hands opened and closed beneath the black fabric of her gloves.

'I haven't done this in a while. But I'm begging you . . . Falcon. Help me.' She thought softly. Holding her hands out in front of her, she closed her eyes.

"You who rule the day, with powers of the night. Guide your 1 anamchara through this with your spirit." She whispered. "Hold your 2 fukushin tight, and give wings to 3 ton amour." She opened her eyes, her hands had begun to glow a dark light. "Falcon. . . . help me."

"This is not good." Ian hissed as the light flared around their bitbeasts, it began to close in.

"Cease!!" A voice suddenly ordered. The blackness froze. The Demolition boys turned to look at Akkiko. Her arms were out, and they were holding a rod of some sort. Sweat ran down her face as she panted harshly. "Return to your 4 pays." She hissed. The dragon scowled and gave a frustrated roar as the blackness dissolved into the rod she held.

Little witch. I will seal you!

It snapped, then dove beneath the surface before vanishing again. Akkiko stood there, gasping, then fell to her knees, the rod vanished. The Demolition boys recalled their bitbeasts, and stood there silently. None, knew what to say. Akkiko dropped to her knees and breathed harshly, her body frozen with shock and the remains of her terror. The Demolition boys once again all started at each other, this wasn't something in their training. They didn't know what to do. Yet, on instinct, Tala walked up, slowly.

". . . A-?"

"I'm sorry." She broke in. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think- I mean he- why would they-?" She couldn't finish any of her sentences. Tala shook his head and pulled her to her feet.

"Come. We don't want to be here if that thing returns." Akkiko stiffened, then nodded. She tried to take a step forward, only to stumble into Tala, who, despite his own thoughts, held her and kept her on her feet. Brian, following his instincts as well, put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly, in a comforting way. Ian, being so short he couldn't do the same, instead took her hand and held that tight, glaring at the others as if daring them to make a comment, which none of them did. Akkiko unconsciously leaned on Tala, while crossing one arm over to rest her hand on Brian's, and the hand that Ian held squeezed back for comfort.

---

Spencer, being the biggest of the team, carried Akkiko bridal style to the cave, once there, they asked her to change into shorts and T-shirt so that they could dress her wounds. If she couldn't move, they'd have to change her clothes themselves, thankfully though, it didn't have to come to that. She moved behind the bathroom curtain and came out a few minutes later, her fingers struggling to tie the string on her shorts. The reason? Her fingers were trembling badly. Tala shook his head, walked up and tied the strings for her, lightly. Akkiko blushed.

"I-I'm . . . sorry."

"Never mind. Go wash the blood off your hands and we'll clean your arm." Tala ordered her sternly, she went to do as bid in the back of the cave. The team on the other hand walked to the entrance where they wouldn't be overheard.

"We're helping her?" Spencer asked quietly.

"Yes. She saved out lives." Tala replied.

"Yeah, the wench did. She's as good as one of us now." Ian muttered scratching the back of his head. Brian nodded assent. Suddenly Ian laughed.

"Well that puts a kink in our name doesn't it? Demolition BOYS?" He asked chuckling. Tala shook his head and smiled at Ian's folly.

"I want to know what she did with that black light." Brian voiced softly. Spencer nodded. Silence reigned once again.

"Uh . . . guys?" Akkiko asked softly, there she stood, still slightly dripping with water. They turned. At once, they all thought the same thing.

'God, she looks so fragile right now . . .' Tala shook his head tiresomely.

"Brian, go hunting. Spencer, water and wood for the fire. Ian and I will take care of the wench." He said with a smirk at Akkiko. She attempted to scowl, and only managed to frown a bit. Well, she'd have to settle for that.

---

Tala finished dressing Akkiko's wound and nodded to her. She smiled weakly back at him as Ian did some thinking. Looking her over, he grimaced. She had tiny thin cuts all over her arms and legs, bruises on her ribs and her braid was an utter mess. Sighing, he grabbed her wrists, then examined the weather. Really warm today, and there was one small deep pond that always had the sunlight shining on it, guaranteeing warm water. Leading her to the cave entrance he let go of her wrists and nodded.

"Wait here." He ordered and dashed off back to that small chest that held her personal items. Opening it, he went through the things. What the-?

'Okay, why does she have little stick candies in here?' He thought confused as he pulled out a long thin object wrapped in yellow paper. Shrugging, he tossed it aside and pulled out whatever came to his hand next.

'More of this stuff?' He thought as his hands found a square object this time, it was squishy and wrapped in the same plastic wrappings. He tossed that aside and smiled as he found what he was looking for. Grabbing three different kinds, he stuffed them in a travel bag, threw that on his shoulders and raced for the entrance where Akkiko waited patiently with a confused look.

"C'mon!" He said eagerly.

---

Akkiko decided on something that evening. Either a) they had gotten used to Russian weather, or b) they had bloody freakin' lost their minds. She was betting on b. Since it was HOT that night, they had switched their clothes for something more loose and comfortable, in the case of the boys, shorts and T-shirt. In her case, tank top and mini-skirt. The boys found the change, not attractive really, but more or less, surprising, interesting and as well as . . . new.

"Why is your hair so shiny?" Spencer wanted to know. Akkiko grinned happily, being back to her normal self, she flipped her now combed and silky hair over her shoulder, it was unbraided and falling down her back in a flowing curtain.

"Ian washed it for me."

"WHAT??" The team demanded looking at the shortest boy on the team as he suddenly hid behind his cards blushing.

"Well what could I do?!" He protested loudly. "It was such a mess, and I noticed she has really nice hair. ." Tala couldn't believe his ears.

"Yeah. It was really relaxing, he was so gentle, and easy with the knots. Then he used those really nice smelling shampoos and it was really fun." Akkiko said smiling evilly. Ian groaned inwardly.

"Is that where you vanished off to this afternoon?" Tala asked raising his eyebrow.

"Nooooooooooooooyyyyyesssss." Ian mumbled with a sigh and a groan. Tala laughed.

"You did a good job." He commented, then looked back at Akkiko. "You look . . . .nice."

"For a hag." Brian added in after a moment's pause.

"BRIAN!" Akkiko shrieked. The boy chuckled.

"Just for that, I'm whipping your butt at poker!" She declared haughtily. Brian laid down his cards.

"Royal flush."

". . . . damn you." She grumbled. The others laughed. She joined in soon afterwards. That night she sighed as she fell onto her sleeping bag.

'They haven't forgotten, they're just being nice about that event until I'm up to talking about it. I wonder if the Bladebreakers and the Majestics have found out about Kat and Meg's secrets yet?' She wondered softly as she dozed off.

'Hope not. . .'

"Night wench." Tala called out teasingly. He was really becoming attached to that girl.

"Sod off you . . . . you wanker!"

"Wench."

"Wanker!"

"Wench!"

"Wanker!"

"Bloody wench!"

"Bloody wanker!"

"Hey idiots, shut up and let us reasonable people get some sleep!" Ian broke in. the reply from both of them was the same.

"SCREW OFF SHORTY!!"

There was a moment's pause as silence hung in the air. All of a sudden, Ian remembered something.

"Hey wench?"

"What shorty?"

"Why do you have bloody little stick candies in your chest?"

"Little stick cand-? Oh god. I'll explain that when you hit puberty."

"Wha-?!"

"SHUT UP!" Brian, Tala and Spencer all snapped.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but Akkiko, plot and jokes. Meg owns herself, Kat own herself, and the rest is property of what's their name . . . I can't remember.

1 Irish for 'Soul friend/mate' (Anamchara)

2 Japanese for 'True friend' (Fukushin)

3 French for 'Your love' (Ton amour)

4 French for 'country' (I think, I'm not too sure about this one.) (Pays)


	5. Kat's day

Author's note: This the same day Akkiko was attacked alright?

Chapter 5

On the day that Akkiko had been attacked, Kat was having her own problems. It all started as a regular day with the group out camping in the Siberian wilderness. . . (AN: Oh yeah, sure. THAT'S normal.) Kat woke up and looked around.

'Wonder what I'll do today.' Staring around, she blinked with surprise, it was barely light out, thus, none of the others had woken up yet. Sighing, Kat lay back down in her bag and closed her eyes. Her dreams, were not unfamiliar, but they were definitely, unwanted.

- Flashback -

"Mom, dad?" Kat asked as she walked up, a mere child of 7. Her parents had been throwing a manager party this evening. She smiled brightly. "Come play with me!!" She said giggling, holding out her arms to be picked up. Her father patted her absently on the head.

"So did you hear about the stock market incident today?" He asked one of his co-workers.

"Daddy?" Kat asked confused.

"Uh . . that's nice honey." Her mother said without looking down. "I heard it crashed completely." Kat sighed and walked away.

'Why do they always ignore me? It must be because I'm too small. No one can notice me.' Kat thought dimly as she climbed onto the couch and sat down. Looking around, she sat there quietly, looking for someone to talk to, that's when she spotted Dain coming through the door, three of his friends were with him, from his soccer team. Slinging his sports bag over his shoulder, Dain joked with his friends and closed the door behind him.

"Dain!!" Kat squealed with delight and hopped off the couch to run over to him. Dain walked past her without noticing. "Huh?" She mumbled softly looking at his vanishing back as he disappeared into the pool house. "Why . . . why doesn't he see me? He's not so big that he can't see me . . ." She looked down and clenched her tiny fists. "So why won't he talk to me? Am I just not important?"

---

Leaning against the wall, she sniffled a bit. Her tiny body was shadowed by the lack of light in the hallway. Her knees were against her chest, her head bowed over.

'It . . . it hurts. Why am I ignored?' She thought painfully. 'No . . . not ignored.' She suddenly corrected. 'Alone.'

- End -

Enrique brushed away the tears from Kat's eyes as they fell. She whimpered in her sleep and clutched the blanket in her fist. He had seen her get up about an hour ago, and left her alone. That is until she had started crying, then he got worried. His mind traveled over to that paper he had found.

- Flashback -

Enrique was walking behind Kat, carrying the wood, while Kat lugged the giant water pail, when suddenly something fell from her pocket. It was a little book.

"Hey Kat-!" He began, when he saw the first page it had opened up to. What was written there, made his heart freeze. Because what was written there, in the beautiful elaborate script, was a world of pain and lost dreams.

Entry date: December 25  
Age: 10

I feel so alone. Mother and father are out at Christmas parties, Dain is with his girlfriend, and the servants are all gone to their families. I feel . . . so empty. Whenever I think about this, I start to hurt, right in my chest, over my heart. It feels like it eats me away. I know what this is. I call it the 'Loneliness.' No one pays attention to me, they ignore me. Worse then ignore me, they don't talk to me. It is one thing to be ignored, but much worse, to be alone. . . I . . . I want to die.

Katherine Diana Muller

Entry date: January 5  
Age: 10

It is a new year, yet everything feels the same. I . . . I want someone to talk to. Anyone to talk to. Every night, before I go to sleep, I pray to god for one of two things. Either someone as a friend, or death. I would accept either gladly, I cannot discover which I want more. The 'Loneliness' has returned, my heart clenches tight, and makes it hard for me to breath. I will stop writing now.

Katherine Diana Muller

Entry date: January 27  
Age: 11

Today is my birthday, but my mother is away on a shopping venture. I was given a small charm for my birthday from my brother. My mother and father simply give me money. I suppose it is the thought that counts. I also received one other item of curiosity. A set of bracers, they fit around my wrists easily, I like them. I think I will keep them. I wear them even as I write these words, I also met two girls earlier today. Through one of father's business ventures of course. They were both wandering around. I will write what happened.

"Helloooooo?" The girl called, her raven hair braided as she walked around the mansion. I was irritated by the noise, so I opened the door and demanded what she was doing.

"What on earth are you doing?" I snapped. She looked at me surprised.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't know there was actually someone around!" She called out surprised. "You must be Katherine."

"Yes. Who are you?"

"Kimiko. I hate my name though." She said with an air of frustration.

"KIMIKO CIMATURA!!" A voice shrieked. The girl squeaked and grabbed my wrist, yanking me into a hallway closest she shut the door and signaled for me to be silent. A woman went stomping by.

"Young lady this is unseemly!!" The woman called out before marching away, her face a bright red. Kimiko sighed heavily.

"That was my mother." She said stepping out from the closet. "Or 'Crazed perfectionist' would be a more specific term. She's never happy with me being JUST me. I always have to be better. I hate it." She grumbled. Despite my own thoughts, I felt myself bonding with this girl, after all, she had problems with her family as well.

"So, Kat. What you wanna do?" She asked in a cheery voice. I raised my eyebrow.

"Kat?"

"Short for Katherine. Feel free to call me Akkiko!" She piped up. I raised my other eyebrow.

"Alright then."

After meeting Akkiko, we went into the gardens, I had a fondness of flowers, as evidently she did too. That was where I met Magoto Satsuka. She was 11 as well. Well, we didn't really meet her, more or less, she ran into us. Allow me to explain.

"SPIDER!!" A voice shrieked, before someone came running out and barreled into Akkiko, sending the two of them yelping over the grass. The minute the girl had a chance to get to her feet, she scrambled behind Akkiko and quivered.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Akkiko asked surprised.

"SPI--DER!" She shrieked and pointed at a small speck on the wall.

"Where?" Akkiko asked.

"Can't you SEE it?! IT'S HUGE!" She shrieked. I walked up, indeed, there was a spider, but it was barely the size of a grain of rice. It must've been a baby spider. I took off my shoe, and squashed it easily before putting my shoe back on.

"There. It's gone." I said matter of factly. Akkiko applauded me by clapping her hands and giving off a goofy grin. The girl sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much. My name is Magoto Satsuka."

"You have too big a name, I'll call you Meg." Akkiko piped up chipperly. "Kimiko Cimatura. Akkiko." I was silent for a moment. Unsure of whether to say my name or not. Akkiko made the decision for me however when she slung her arm over my shoulders and put me in some sort of head lock.

"This is Katherine Muller. Kat." She said doing what I guess she thought was a hug. I gasped for air. Meg raised her eyebrow.

"You're insane."

"I know!" Akkiko replied happily, looking for all the world to see like that was a compliment. Meg laughed, that was when Akkiko let me go, and I started laughing too.

That's how I met them, I only spent three hours with them, but after, I realized with shock, they made the pain go away. I will definitely like spending my time with them. We meet again in three days! I can hardly wait.

Katherine Diana Muller

Entry date: February 15  
Age: 11

Meg now has a baby sister, I'm happy for her. She finally has someone to mother and take care of. Akkiko wanted to help raising her, but we both declined.

"Can I help raise her?" Akkiko asked excitedly.

"NO!!" We both yelled.

The thought of a second Akkiko in this world . . . horrible. There is no other word. We also formed the Mystics today. Akkiko is the weakest because she hasn't gotten a partner.

Entry date: April 20  
Age: 12

Meg, Akkiko and myself haven't talked for a while. The Mystics are finished. After all, we don't have 'them' anymore, and something seems to be taking up all our time. I don't know what. I want to talk to them again. Soon. The 'loneliness' is returning.

Entry date: February 15  
Age: 13

It has been one year since Meg's sister was born, I got a call from her today. Her mother died, I set out to express my sympathies, but she couldn't let me come. She said she didn't want her to see me this way. I got another call, this was from the police. I was shocked to hear what I did. Akkiko had attempted suicide!! The police wanted to know if I knew anything about why she would want to do such a thing. I was grateful she didn't succeed, but is it possible, her pain is the same as my own? God, why do you play such wicked games with our lives?

Entry date: June 1  
Age: 13

The pain has returned, I cannot speak to Meg or Akkiko anymore. As a result, I have built a wall around myself, blocking emotions from my thoughts. I have learned, not to talk. I know now, it will be ignored. I do not want to go on this way, reading my previous entry, I will do the same. I will try to kill myself.

Entry date: July 15  
Age: 13

My plan did not succeed, if it hadn't been for that damned maid, I would have been dead right now. She walked in on me after I had slit my wrists. My family hadn't even wondered where I was, until they got a phone call 2 days later saying I was in better condition. I am now back at full health and receiving daily sessions with these quacks called psychiatrists. I can play with their minds more then they can mine. It is all too easy. I think I will play a bit more before pretending I am all better.

Entry date: January 20  
Age: 14

I have not written for so long. It is not like I have had time for such a thing anymore. With no one bothering me, I turned my attentions to my studies. I am now quite pleased to say that I have improved greatly with my education. I am at the top of my country's list for best students. I got a letter from Akkiko, and another from Meg. Both were letters of apology. Meg because she has to take care of her sister now. 24/7, her father has no time for either of his children. I pity her, I can see what she does not yet. Her child hood is being torn away from her, ripped violently. Akkiko, her mother is still crazed about her perfection. She has barely anytime to sleep, much less talk. She writes that she ran away from her Greek lessons. I do not blame her. But that is enough time wasted, I will seek more things to do.

Entry date: March 16  
Age: 15

This will be my final entry, I'm losing. I feel the pain returning. It has lessened a bit since I have come back into contact with Akkiko and Meg, both are growing up and starting to control their own futures. There is something I have not written in here yet. From my entry when I wrote about the bracers I received? There was something special about them. Through them . . . I met Razor.

- End -

Enrique looked back at Kat and sighed. He had argued with Robert that morning in hopes to talk to Kat about what he had discovered, but Robert saw that as an invasion of her privacy. Then ordered him to put it back in her trunk later that day. What he hadn't expected was her walking in on him while he was doing it. Oh well, he brushed a few bangs from Kat's face and smiled softly.

"You have too many secrets Kat. Far too many." Enrique whispered and walked back towards the fire, now that she had stopped crying.

---

Morning light shone as Oliver smiled, his fingers traveled over her ankle.

"It's a lot better. I think it's fully healed." He said cheerfully and let Kat stand up.

"Thanks Oliver." She said with a wink, then stretched and started for the door. "Now I can finally do my help of the chores around here."

"Thank god." Johnny muttered leaning against the wall. Kat stuck her tongue out at him, then laughed and jogged off.

---

Kat was grabbing some more twigs for the fire, when she stopped and took a deep breath. Looking at the water, she held out one hand while the other grasped the sticks. Her bracer flashed in the sunlight.

'I haven't called on you for so long. I'm not even sure how I got you Razor.' She looked at the sky and shook her head. Suddenly something flashed, and made a paper thin cut on her cheek. Dropping the sticks, she clapped her hand to her cheek and winced.

"Ow . . ." She muttered. Pulling her hand away, and seeing the blood, her eyes widened.

Death, to those who defy the wind. A voice hissed in her ear, as the sound of soft paw steps neared her. She spun around and tripped on the sticks she had just dropped. Gaping at the creature, she froze. The pain of the 'Loneliness' awoke in the back of her mind. It screeched through her thoughts and made her clap her hands to her head in pain.

"No . . ." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

Do not even try to fight it. The wolf proclaimed, his silver fur glistened in the sun with a black star on his forehead, a cold wind came from him. He was large, almost as big as a horse with golden eyes.

"Not this . . . don't . . ." She tried feebly before she felt her breath catch in her throat. Her chest tightened.

Die Katherine.

". . . don't." She tried again. "Razor . . ." The pain rose to an unbearable level, and she screamed till her voice was hoarse as the pain ripped through her.

"UNICOLYON!!!" The wolf was suddenly knocked aside as Oliver's bitbeast came shooting out from nowhere. Kat raised her head, as tears fell down her face.

"O-Oliver?" She managed out blearily, her mind snapped into wakefulness. "OLIVER! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" She shrieked in terror. The wolf landed on it's paws and growled angrily.

Do NOT interfere!!! It hissed. Wind blew from nowhere to envelop Oliver's bitbeast, the wind began to pick up, cutting all that it came into contact with. Namely, Oliver's bitbeast. Unicolyon reared and began to back off. The was when the wind force redirected some of it's power, at Oliver. Kat closed her eyes.

'Razor . . .' Oliver drew back in shock as the deadly forces neared him. Suddenly the wind split into two halves in front of him and spun around him, only to go to Kat.

"Kat-!!" Oliver cried out, half in warning, then it became shock. The wind spiraled around her, then flew to her hand in a spiral to form a sphere. She opened her eyes slowly, looking at the wolf with ice cold blue eyes.

"Oliver! What's going-?!" Enrique demanded as he burst through the trees, then saw the wolf.

"What is that?" Johnny breathed. Robert too was speechless. Kat sighed and held both hands out in front of her, palms up.

"God of the winds, hear my prayer and answer my summons. You who are my equal, my love, friend, soul-mate and lord. Give me strength." She furrowed her brow.

'Help me Razor.' And in response to her words, the wind from her sphere suddenly flew out to spiral around her, whipping her hair around.

"Help us." Kat whispered softly. A howl sounded, before the wind flew at the black wolf, who growled.

I'll be back to seal you forever bitch. He snapped, and vanished in a haze of lights. Kat opened her eyes and ignored the tear that trickled down her cheeks.

"Razor . . ."

---

"Kat? Are you going to be alright?" Enrique asked worriedly.

"Yeah." Kat answered stiffly.

"What was that?" Johnny demanded, before Robert shut him up with a searing glare.

"Not another word Johnny."

"But-!"

"Oh shut up hot-head." Enrique snapped irritably.

"HOT-HEAD!" The red head screamed indignantly. "Oh, you're going to get it now!!" And with that, he tackled Enrique until the two, yelping and shouting insults, rolled off the road . . . and into the river next to it. The group stared at each other, then back at the brawling boys.

"PORCUPINE HEAD!!"

"LECH!"

"STICK UP THE A!!"

"MAN-WHORE!"

"F--- YOU!"

"YOU WISH!!"

"GUTTER MINDED LITTLE FREAK!!"

"EMPTY MINDED LITTLE FREAK!"

"WHO YOU CALLING LITTLE??"

"IF THE SIZE 2 SHOE FITS THEN WEAR IT PUNY!!"

"WHY YOU-!!!" They were interrupted by laughter. They had reduced Robert to leaning against a tree, Oliver sitting on the ground, and Kat just plain out lying on the ground, all three were clutching their sides. Only now, did Enrique and Johnny realizing they were sopping wet. They looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly bore two identical evil grins. Appearing behind the other three, they smiled. And . .

push.

KER-SPLASH!!

All 5 of them were now enjoying the icy Siberian water.

"JOHNNY!!!"

"ENRIQUE!!"

"COLD!!"

Disclaimer: I own plot, and nothing else. Except Akkiko, Meg owns herself, Kat herself, I also own the OC bitbeasts.

Akkiko: Ooooo, what're the Mystics? DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNNN!!! The plot thickens!

Meg: Akkiko, shut the hell up.

Kat: My god, get over this and KEEP WRITING!! levels gun at author

Akkiko: EEP!!


	6. Meg's day

Author's notes: It is STILL the same day. You know, when Kat and Akkiko got attacked? It is STILL the same day.

Chapter 6

Meg groaned as she woke up. Why did it feel so . . . musty? Sitting up, she blinked the sleepiness from her eyes and looked around. It was a sunny day, with what should've been crisp air, but it was groggy, like there was some sort of shadow on the horizon. Oh well. Meg shrugged it off and climbed out of her sleeping bag. Standing up, she stretched and wondered what she would do today.

"Hey." A voice said groggily as Meg ran a hair brush through her extremely long hair. The brunette turned to look at Tyson as he crawled, literally, from his sleeping bag. He shook his head once and yawned.

"Hey sleepy." She teased.

"Good. You're both up." A voice said calmly. The two turned to find Kai standing there, he did not look happy. Then again, when does he ever look happy?

"Morning Kai-sama." Meg said cheerfully. He grimaced. Then shook his head.

"I want you both on guard today. There is something out there." He said softly, and walked off. Tyson blinked.

"Something out there?" He repeated. "Wonder what could have Kai so edgy."

"He was edgy?" Meg wondered. Tyson nodded as he stood up.

"Yeah, I know it doesn't show much, but when you're stuck with the guy for a year, you tend to learn how to read their emotions."

"Ah. Very true." Meg said dimly. "In the mean time, I feel like something died in my mouth." She said with a wince and walked off to the back of the cave where their 'bathroom' was. Her wrist bands itched a bit, so she eased them gently.

'Talon . . .' She thought dimly, then shook her head and let the curtain drop behind her.

---

"Max! Ray! Hey where the hell are you guys?!" Meg demanded as she brushed some leaves out of the way and looked around.

"BOMBS AWAY!!" A voice suddenly cried, and Meg barely managed to jump out of the way as a torrent of water came down.

"MAX!!" She shrieked to the laughing blonde. His partner in crime, Ray, was chuckling.

"Good reflexes." He commented. She scowled playfully.

"Oh you're going to get it misters." Meg declared with a growl. Then, picking up two small sized rocks, chucked them at the two boys who were still laughing.

CLUNK!

"Direct hit captain, I repeat, direct hit." Tyson commented as he stepped out of the bushes with Kai behind him. Max and Ray rubbed their sore heads. Meg smirked.

"Serves you right."

"Okay, okay. No need to get all hissy about it." Ray mumbled. Meg winked cheerfully.

"Oh boy." Kai muttered rolling his eyes. Meg stuck her tongue out.

"Hey Kai, what's the matter? Afraid to smile because your face might crack?" She teased. He smirked in reply.

"If there's anything cracked around here, it's you. And I mean the mental way."

"UP YOURS PORCUPINE!" Meg retorted angrily with a rude gesture. Kai chuckled.

"You only wish." He replied.

"Ewwww . . . ." She got out cringing away in mock disgust. A sudden scream tore through the air.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!" Tyson reeled around.

"Kenny!!" He got out before dashing off. Meg stood rooted to the spot.

'This . . . this feeling . . . He's here . . .but . . .how-? Wait . . what if . . . what if Kat and Akkiko-' Her mind refused to let her even think of that possibility, instead, her feet started forward in a run. The others were already far ahead of her. Bursting into the clearing, Kai paled as he looked at the creature. It was a sea blue, with the a lining of bright silver at the tips of its feathers. The phoenix was easily the size of horse and had a long tail that flicked back and forth. Kenny cowered beneath it, it seemed that he had stumbled onto the bird by pure accident. Meg walked out of the bushes, well, no point in secrecy now. It was all going downhill.

"Talon." She whispered softly, her heart tearing in pain. The phoenix swiveled around to face her. Meg stood there calmly, looking at the phoenix with sorrow filled eyes.

"So you finally came back. Well? What are you waiting for?" She wanted to know. The bird flapped it's wings a few times and landed in front of her, raising dust.

You are ready? The bird wanted to know. Meg was silent for a minute, then opened her eyes slowly, and looked Talon right in the eye.

"I can't." The minute she uttered those two words, the phoenix took to the air and flapped its wings with frustration.

Then I will MAKE you. And with that, it flapped its wings once more, and released a showed of ice needles. Meg stood there, unwavering.

"Dragoon!!" Tyson yelled out. The ice hit a wind barrier and was sent back at the phoenix who merely blinked, causing the deadly sharpened points to vanish. It gave an ear piercing screech and rose even higher into the air.

'Sky dive.' She thought instantly.

"TYSON! Get Dragoon out of there now!!" She screamed. Tyson looked at her surprise, before he called his blade back into his hand, just in time as fate would have it. Talon screeched angrily as his razor sharp claws scratched the dirt where it had just been. It flew up high again and circled overhead. Meg however, had had enough. As the phoenix unleashed a sudden hailstorm of snow, it blinded the others. Forcing them back off.

"Meg!!" Ray cried out as he used his arm to block the falling ice. Meg closed her eyes, and held out her hands where her silver lined, black wrist bands flashed brightly.

---

"Wake up. HEY! Tyson, wake up!" A voice snapped. Tyson opened his eyes slowly.

"What?" He mumbled, before sitting upright. "Meg! Are you alright?!" He demanded. "What happened?!"

"You fainted." She said with a bemused voice.

"I . . . I did?" Tyson managed as he looked around confused.

"Yeah, I still have to wake the others though." She said softly and stood up, walking over to Kai, she shook his shoulder gently, causing the team captain to groan and shift. Meg smirked.

"Hey cactus head. Wake up. You okay?" She said teasingly. Kai's eyes opened.

"Screw off mop head." He growled. Meg chuckled.

"He's okay." She moved onto Ray and Max. Smiled dimly, then, taking the bucket of water from next to the river, emptied the contents over the two.

"HOLY HELL!!" Ray yelped jumping up and dancing around trying to get the small chunk of ice out of his shirt. Max sat up and banged his head against a tree limb.

"Oww." He moaned. Meg laughed.

"Morning guys. How's the water?" Both stopped to look at her.

"DIE!!" The both shrieked and tackled her, managed to smear her clothes with the water they themselves had accumulated.

"ACK!!" Meg squeaked as Ray and Max both lifted her up into the air. "What the hell are you do- why are you heading towards the river?" Kenny sat up blearily at the noise, rubbing his eyes he looked at the three and sweatdropped. "Hey! You're not going to do what I think you're going to are you?!" Meg demanded. Ray smiled.

"What do you THINK we're going to do?"

"On three?" Max asked. Ray nodded, and they began to swing her back and forth.

"One. Two. T-!"

"THREE!!" Tyson yelled out, and tackled them all in at once. Kai shook his head.

"Idiots. They completely forgot one detail." He mused. All of a sudden Tyson jumped out yelping.

"COLD!! COLD COLD COLD COLD!!!" He screamed dancing around. Ray climbed out after him, Meg followed.

"Tyson, you are the biggest idiot I have ever seen." She grumbled ringing out her hair.

"Hey . . . where's Max?" Kenny asked. The group paused, and looked back at the river. Bubbles issued to the surface comically.

"EEP! MAX!"

---

"HA-CHOO!!" Tyson sneezed. Then sniffled as he held his cup of hot chocolate. He was sitting by the fire, accompanied by Max and Ray who were both sniffling. Meg sighed and shook her head.

"Serves you right."

"Ow cub youb art sick?" Tyson groaned out.

"Huh?"

"He asked why aren't you sick." Kenny translated. Meg shrugged.

"I'm special." She said happily.

"In more ways then one." Kai declared sneering.

"Shove off!" Meg snapped back in reply, but smiled nonetheless.

"Hey Meg?" Max managed out. Meg turned to look at him.

"Yes?"

"What happened?" He wanted to know. "I mean, after the light thing and all." He clarified. Meg was silent for a moment. Then shrugged.

"I stopped it."

"How?" Ray demanded. Meg looked at him.

"I'll tell you later. Maybe. Now, drink this and I'll go get you some more blankets." She said handing the three of them a different cup with some noxious smelling stuff in it.

"But-!"

"No buts Tyson." Walking off, she sighed.

- Flashback -

I will seal you!! Talon shrieked in defiance as she redirected the icicles back at him. Meg closed her eyes.

"Did . . . did you attack the others as well?" Talon stiffened, before hissing and vanishing into the storm. Meg opened her eyes and looked at the ground as the raging elements calmed. A lone tear fell.

"I guess that was a yes."

- End -

'The past comes back to haunt us. But why now?' Meg wondered as she gathered some more blankets. Suddenly there was a small squall.

"You drink it."

"No. You do it."

"I double dare you."

". . . damn."

Silence for a moment.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK!!!!"

"Whoa, dude, you look like you're going to be sick."

"Your turn Tyson."

"Okay . . ."

Silence.

"Splutter ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US WOMAN??" He screamed. Meg smirked.

"Damn." She muttered beneath her breath. Max looked at his cup.

"I'm scared. Really scared." Ray crawled outside. There it sounded like he was emptying his stomach.

"Ewww . . ." Max muttered with an appalled expression. Tyson choked.

"Water . . . . gasp water!!"

"Oh grow up." Meg snapped dropping the blankets on him. Max, gathered his courage, and took a sip.

- Outside -

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

- Inside -

Meg raised her eyebrow.

"Oh come on." She said sarcastically. "It couldn't have been THAT bad."

"Wanna bet?" Tyson groaned handing her his cup. She took it, then shrugged and took a sip.

- ½ second later -

Kai grimaced.

"If you were going to do that, couldn't you do that . . in a different direction?" He asked calmly as he wiped the vile liquid off his face. Meg blushed and wiped some of the stuff off from the side of her mouth.

"Excuse me." She mumbled and ran outside to join Ray in his business.

Disclaimer: I own plot, Akkiko, and the OC bitbeast. Meg owns herself, Kat herself, and rest is company of that guy over there! points to random guy

Random guy: Huh?

Lawyers dash over

Random guy: ACK!! runs away


	7. Safety above friendship

Chapter 7

The morning light peeked through the curtain over the cave entrance. Striking Akkiko's face, she cracked open her eyes a bit, shivered in the cold, and curled up in her sleeping bag. Unfortunately, there was one tiny problem with that. It wasn't exactly HER sleeping bag. She smiled, and tossed over, her face coming close to someone else's. Their lips met for a brief moment . . . both their eyes snapped open. And . . . the inevitable happened.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

---

"So let me get this straight. Somehow you ended up in Tala's bed, and when you woke up you were startled and hit him, and on top of all that, you screamed right into his ear and that's why he's mad?" Ian wondered scratching his head. Akkiko flushed.

"Sort of." She mumbled twiddling her fingers.

"Tala?" Spencer asked looking down at the boy who was next to him. Tala was sitting on the floor, one hand holding his head as he looked off to the side. The tiny bruise visible on the cheek shown. Spencer had his arms crossed and was looking down at him. Tala did not reply. Ian shook his head.

"Who knew you sleep walked." He said shrugging. Akkiko turned a brighter red. Brian scowled.

"I vote we tie her down when she goes to sleep, that way, one of us might actually wake up with our hearing still intact." Spencer nodded.

"She already hit you two, god, I'd hate to wake up and find the wench in my sleeping bag." Ian said shuddering.

WHACK!

Akkiko smacked him over the head.

"SHUDDAP!!"

---

"Hmmm." Kat sounded softly.

"What is it?" Enrique asked looking at her.

"I wonder if the Demolition Boys have found out that Akkiko sleep walks yet." She said with an evil smile. Enrique blinked. Then burst out laughing.

"T-that girl . . in one of their sleeping bags? Heaven forbid." He wheezed. Wiping the tears from his eyes he stretched and smiled.

"Well, what do you want to do? Since the others won't tell us what they're doing, and I was set to the task of keeping you occupied, what do you think we should do?"

"Hide and seek?"

"Hide and seek?!" Enrique said appalled. Kat shrugged.

'Please say yes.' She thought silently. The Italian shrugged.

"Well, okay. I'll count. You go hide. But." He added before she could leave. "If I find you, then I get a kiss."

"WHAT??" Kat demanded. Enrique laughed.

"It's the only way." Kat winced. Damn. No other way to get away from them. Alright, she'd have to go for it.

"Fine." And with that, she dashed out of there.

---

Meg sighed heavily. With her mind made up and a backpack of provisions slung over her shoulder, she was all but ready. Thankfully, they hadn't seen her leave.

'I have to leave. If I don't . . .' She shook her head and walked off.

---

Akkiko looked up at the sky, the shadow fell over her, and she grimaced.

'I have to leave. There is no other way.' The minute the D-boys looked away, she was out of there, weaving in and out of the trees. The morning frost crunching under her feet.

'I'm sorry, but it's for the best.'

---

Kat had been walking for an hour and a half now, she sat down to rest.

"Don't think he can find me now." She whispered and sighed. Looking around she grinned happily.

"Free at last." Suddenly there was a sound of crashing. Kat shrieked as something fell in front of her. The thing looked up, and paled.

"Kat?!"

"MEG???" The two girls gaped, then said at the same time;

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??"

"I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!!"  
"I missed you so much!!" They both shrieked and hugged each other.

"How's it been with the Majestics?" Meg asked excitedly.

"Hell." Kat lied. "You?"

"Same." Meg lied as well.

"Hey . . if we're on the same island. Do you think-?"

"Bloody trees . . ." Someone muttered as that person came stumbling out into the clearing. Silence.

"HOLY HELL!!" Akkiko cried seeing the other two. "What are you doing here?!" She cried in surprise. Meg and Kat smiled.

"Akkiko!"

"Imoutosan!!" They hugged her happily.

"ACK! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!!!" The girl cried out and struggled wildly.

---

"So, why did you leave?" Meg asked Kat. Kat looked down suddenly, her face filled with sorrow. Meg nodded.

"Razor?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Let me guess. Falcon attacked you." Meg said looking at Akkiko, who nodded somberly.

"And you-?"

"Talon."

"Thought so . . ."

Silence for a few moments.

"I had to leave them."

"I know. If we hadn't . ."

"They would have hurt the boys." Meg finished.

"We'll forge out on our own!" Akkiko suddenly piped up. "It can't be too hard!" She said happily and jumped up with a smile.

"Yeah, that'll work!" Meg said standing up as well. Kat grinned.

"Works for me."

"The trio is back!!" Akkiko cheered and set off.

"Huh-? Akkiko! Wait!! You don't know where the hell you're going!!" Meg demanded.

"So?! Neither do you!!" She called back. Kat chuckled.

"Hey-!! AKKIKO!!"  
"Hurry up or I'll start singing!!" She threatened.

"Now wait just a darn second-!"

"THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS!! YES IT GOES ON AND ON-!!" Akkiko sang shrilly at the top of her lungs. Meg clapped her hands over her ears, as did Kat.

"Damn her lungs." They growled at the same time.

- 2 days later -

Kai frowned. He knew he had bugged that girl, but had he actually gotten her mad? She didn't seem too angry at the time.

"I'm really worried about her. Gone with no note, no goodbye, only taking some provisions and that was it." Max murmured softly.

"Gah! We have to find her!!!" Tyson screamed jumping to his feet. "Something could have happened to her! That phoenix thing might have come back or something!"

"But what can we do? We have no way to find her." Kenny protested.

"The chief's right. We have no way to find her." Ray whispered shutting his eyes. "It's hopeless."

"No it's not!!" Tyson protested. Without another word, Kai stood up, grabbed a gun and loaded it. That done, he pulled on a thick jacket, grabbed a bag of provisions and set out. A helicopter had dropped the new supplies and left. Tyson looked at his captain.

"Kai-?"

"C'mon. I'll track her. I should have done this long ago." He muttered and began to look over the ground, placing his fingertips against the dirt, he smiled.

"The trail is still easy to read. C'mon." He urged and started a jog down the area. Tyson swore.

"Hey! Wait up!" He called, grabbing his own bag of provisions, a gun and a jacket. Ray, Max and Kenny looked at each other, before scrambling to grab their own supplies before chasing after the other two.

---

"She definitely came through here." Johnny said softly observing the broken branch and trampled grass. Enrique was mentally kicking himself.

"I can't believe I lost her!" He growled looking frustrated and angry at himself.

"Don't dwell on that. We have to find her and fast. I don't want to find her dead at the claws of that wolf." Robert said dimly as he looked around.

"Don't even think about that possibility." Oliver declared shuddering. "It's not a happy thought."

"No. It isn't. All the more reason to find her faster." Enrique finished and followed Johnny.

'Kat . . . where are you?'

---

"The wench isn't back yet." Ian murmured. Tala frowned, his face clouded.

"Well?" Spencer asked.

"What?" Tala wanted to know.

"Aren't we going after her?" Ian demanded. "She IS one of us!" Brian nodded quietly.

"I . . ." For once in his life, Tala was unsure. Should they go after her? She was nothing but trouble surely. . but . . . he hadn't realized it. He had grown accustomed to looking out for her like one of his team. Always making sure to hear her regular breathing at night, always checking for her in his mental role call. Making sure she did her part, and in turn was there in the morning. Hell, he'd even gotten used to her whining, nagging and jokes. She was one of them now. Tala sighed.

"Alright. Grab weapons, extra ammo, and provisions. That as well as a jacket, I don't know if we'll need them, but better to be safe then sorry. Move." Tala ordered and the team saluted before running off to obey. He looked up at the sky, and frowned. What was that odd shadow over the clouds? There were three of them. And for some reason, Tala became even more worried by their presence.

Disclaimer: I own plot and myself. That is IT!!


	8. Fate is laughing out there

Author's note: When I say the '3 hours' it means it's all at the same time okay? So this is all happening at once. If it's 4 hours, then it's one hour away from the others okay? Er, maybe I'll just put the times up too . . .

Chapter 8

- 3 hours, 6 debates, 12 arguments, and 13 'shut ups' later - (4:36pm)

"Are you SURE you're not lost?" Enrique asked for the 16th time.

"YES! Why in the name of heaven do you keep asking that?!" Johnny snapped. Enrique shrugged.

"It could be just me. But I'm pretty sure that's the white ribbon you tied to a tree an hour ago." He said pointing at a tree, and indeed, there was a white ribbon, tied securely in place. Johnny swore. Oliver shook his head and sat down, leaning against a tree.

"Let's rest here a while." Robert sighed and also sat down gracefully. Enrique fell to his knees in a fall and groaned.

"It's been 2 and a half days. Anything could have happened to her by now . ." He murmured holding his head in his hands.

"Uh . . . guys?" Everyone turned to look at Johnny who was holding the white ribbon.

"What?" Robert asked.

"This isn't my mark."

"WHAT??"

"There was a symbol on the ribbon I tied. There's no symbol on this. There's someone else on this island." Johnny said calmly.

- 3 hours, 9 debates, 18 arguments, and 47 (Mostly Kai's) 'shut ups' later - (4:36pm)

"We've been walking for hours and still no sign of her." Tyson growled while kicking a rock to emphasize his anger. "Where the HELL is she?!"

"Tyson."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Shut up." Tyson interrupted grumpily.

"So far we've covered a total of 12 miles. Walking in a straight line of course." Kenny deducted. "And we're not even close to finding her."

"Uh . . . Kenny?" Ray suddenly interrupted.

"Yes?"

"I don't think we've been walking in a straight line." Ray mumbled in reply. The team snapped their heads to look at him.

"What?" Max quipped. Ray sighed and held up a white ribbon.

"I tied this to a tree approximately an hour ago. Remember?" He declared dully. Tyson swore vividly and Kai growled.

"You've been leading us in circles Kai!!" Tyson snapped. Kai glared at him.

"No, I haven't. Meg has. I'm just following her trail." Ray sighed and looked back at the ribbon. Suddenly he paled.

"WAITAMINUTE!!" He suddenly yelled out. The team, once more, looked at him. Ray gulped, and held it up, letting it unfold. And there, on the ribbon, was an elaborately scripted 'M'.

"This isn't mine. Mine was a pure white. There's someone else here. . ." He murmured.

- 4 hours, 2 debates, 3 arguments, and 4 'shut ups' later - (5:36pm)

Tala paused uncertainly for a brief moment.

"What is it?" Ian asked calmly. Tala bent down and brushed his fingers against the light footprint on the ground.

"There's more then one." He finally said. Brian and Spencer looked at him and raised their eyebrows questioningly. Tala pointed to the ground and looked at them.

"See? Here's Akkiko's trail, then suddenly she re-tracks one step, and there are two other sets of footprints right there." He pointed a little to the left. Brian frowned.

"What does that mean?" He asked quietly. "Besides the obvious that there was three people here." Tala frowned.

"I'm not sure. . ." There was a sudden crashing in the trees to their left. In a blur of reflexes, the Demolition boys whipped out their guns and pointed it right at the face of . . . .

"HOLY HELL!!!" Ray yelped and fell back. Tala blinked.

"Ray?"

"Ray dude? What'sup? Why'd you- WHAT THE BEEP!!" Tyson screamed upon seeing the Demolition boys.

"You-! But-! HOW??" Tyson nearly shrieked. Brian gaped, his jaw slack. (Not a usual look for the blader)

"Damn trees . . . stupid Russian Wi-ther!!" A voice growled. He had been about to say Winter, when it was actually Summer, that doesn't work now does it? So he substituted it with weather. And who is 'he' you ask?

"JOHNNY???" Ray yelled in shock. Johnny looked up and blinked.

"Ray?"

"RAY?!" Enrique demanded as he too cleared the trees. Then, at the same time, all three teams stood in the clearing where Akkiko, Meg and Kat had stood not too long ago. Okay, 2 and a half days but still. Back to story!! At once, every single person, in that clearing, yelled;

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE???"

---

"So let me get this straight." Tyson muttered chewing a piece of long stemmed grass. "Mr. Dickinson-"

"The crazy old goat-" Ian continued grumbling.

"Stuck all of you here to learn-?" Robert went on.

"Teamwork?" They all finished at once.

Silence.

"How doth spell doom?" Johnny finished lamely.

"Tala, you and your team are going to be here forever." Tyson said lamely.

WHACK!

"OWWW!! HEY THAT HURT!!"

"No, it was supposed to tickle shit head." Tala retorted calmly and set down the gun he had used to smack Tyson over the head.

"So why are you guys all the way out here?" Oliver wanted to know. Tala sent him an icy glare, before responding.

"We're looking for. . . . someone." He suddenly flushed, so did Ian, Spencer and Brian. It appears the D-boys were nervous about admitting, they actually accepted Akkiko, instead of wanting to kill her. Miracle of miracles. Tyson raised his eyebrow at them, as did Robert and Kai.

"So, whose this, someone?" Kai asked quietly. Tala sent him a scathing glare before looking away and flushing.

"None of you business."

"It might very well be because we're looking for someone as well." Robert interrupted. Max thought for a moment.

"Yeah . . ." He said slowly. "I remember those guys on the plane saying we all had to have one of those girls go with each team, and I don't see her with you guys. Or you Tala." He said calmly looking at the other teams. Tala growled. Suddenly Tyson got it.

"Ooooh! I get it." He said with a sly wink and a suggestive smirk. He began poking Tala in the arm.

"You got the hots for her don't you?"

SMACK!!

"OWW!!" Tyson yelped. Tala set the gun down again and said without emotion;

"We just owe her alright?"

"Yeah, the stupid wench saved out lives." Ian snapped. Silence.

"Saved YOUR lives?!" Johnny got out. "HOW?"

"Were you attacked by a strange creature as well?" Oliver wanted to know. Silence once more.

"You were attacked too?" Tyson whispered in shock. Both teams nodded.

"We were attacked by a giant wolf." Enrique declared.

"For us it was a dragon. It reminded me of-" Ian began.

"A bitbeast? So was the phoenix that nearly killed us." Kenny interrupted, earning a death glare from Ian.

"And did you get the feeling. . . ." Johnny murmured.

"That the girls knew them?"

"Or they knew the girls, the dragon said something about sealing Akkiko away."

"You too?!" Tyson said in disbelief. "The phoenix also said something about sealing her."

"As did the wolf." Enrique had been sitting on a rock, in the 'thinking' position, when suddenly he snapped his head upright.

"Hey, wait a minute!!" He suddenly called and everyone turned to look at him. "Kat called the wolf Razor. I remember that name from when I read her-!" He suddenly stopped. Robert blinked, then his eyes dawned in realization.

"The diary!" He finished. Enrique nodded.

"You read her diary? That's low guys, really low." Tyson said with a look at them. Enrique glared.

"Hey, it just fell out of her pocket, and I was gonna give it back, but, well . . . I just read the first word and, let's just say it hooked me."

"Sure it did." Ray declared.

"Enough, what did it say?" Kai demanded. Enrique glared at him, putting on the slightly pout-ish look.

"What crawled up you ass and died?" He demanded. Kai death glared him into silence.

"It mentioned something about a man named Razor, and something. . . called the Mystics? Something about Akkiko being the weakest because she didn't have something Kat and Meg did, and also I'd guess it was a team of some sort. Because Kat mentioned about a year later that they were finished, apparently they didn't have time for it anymore." Robert explained.

"What was that team name again?" Kenny quipped.

"Mystics."

"Mystics . . . .mystics . . . that name is so familiar . . ." Kenny murmured tapping his chin. Suddenly he yelped and tumbled off the rock he had been sitting on.

"Chief! You okay? Why'd you go ballistic on us?" Tyson demanded. Kenny poked his head up.

"The Mystics!! THE Mystics!!! Oh my god, OH MY GOD!!" He cried in near hysteria. "And one of them actually COOKED for us!! WOW!!" He said, and jumped around the clearing with joy. Tala, irritated by the noise growled.

"That's it." He picked up his gun and took aim.

"ACK!!" Max tackled him, earning himself a death glared from the redhead. "No KILLING the Chief!!" He protested.

"Then get him to explain why he's dancing like a madman before I shoot you, and THEN him." Tala snapped angrily. Kenny blinked.

"Oh! Right! Alright, here!" He said and opened his desktop.

"Boy it's cold, and you call this spring?" Dizzi declared in her sarcastic voice.

"Sorry Diz, but could you bring up that video I downloaded a month ago?" Kenny asked politely.

"Which video? You downloaded several dozen Chief." She said dimly. Kenny sighed.

"The one about the finals, three years ago."

"Sure thing Chief. Would you like a cup of coffee with that too?" She asked cynically.

"Cut to the chase Dizzi." He muttered. Suddenly the screen went black, then showed a video, in a beyblade stadium, three years ago.

- Flashback -

"Take him down!!" A girl screamed, she looked only about 11. With a braid of black hair slung over her shoulder, black jeans, a white shirt and a black jacket over her shoulders, she seemed a lot older, especially with the . . . black fingerless gloves on her hands. Her red blade, streaked with black, shot forward and knocked a blade out easily.

"And there goes the third round to the Mystics!! Akkiko Ryuujin takes it!!" The announcer cried.

- Outside the video -

Tala sat upright.

"Akkiko?!"

"The WENCH??" Ian said in shock.

- Video -

Akkiko grinned wildly and called her blade back, taking it into her hand, she walked off the platform to join her friends.

"Way to go 'Kiko!" A girl called, her long brunette hair at her knees in a ponytail. Akkiko winked and gave a thumbs up.

"No prob, he was easy as cake."

"In your case, that means he was really hard. Considering you can't make cake." A voice interrupted dryly. A blonde haired someone.

"Screw off Kat." Akkiko said with a playful smile.

- Outside -

"Kat?! Kat was a blader?!" Robert demanded with disbelief.

"I can't believe it . . ." Enrique gulped.

- Video -

"So which team do we fight next?"

"The Demolition boys idiot! The next match is the finals!!" The brunette declared whacking Akkiko over the head.

"Owie . . . okay Meg, you don't need to go all abusive." Akkiko grumbled.

- Outside -

"The demolition boys?!" Tyson squeaked looking at them. Tala shook his head.

"Three years ago we were still training. The team that was sent to the tournament was composed of different bladers." He replied calmly. Tyson nodded, and turned back to the tape, one question running through his mind.

'If it wasn't them, then that's alright but . . . the question is, did Biovolt's team lose that tournament? Or . . . did they win?'

- Video -

"Okay, we're at the finals." Meg said calmly and grinned. Akkiko smirked playfully.

"Ooohhh, can't breath. Stay calm stay calm." She chanted. Kat laughed.

"Going to defeat your opponents with jokes Akkiko?" She asked dimly.

"Of course not!! Me and Falcon here." She said holding up her blade. "We'll do just fine. How about you and Razor?" She asked. Kat smirked and held up her blade, black and with a small streak of silver, a bit of a wolf was clearly visible.

"We're pumped and ready to steam roll these Demolition Duds." She said confidently.

"Hey, don't get too egotistical." Meg warned. "After all, if anyone will do the trashing, it'll be me and Talon." She said while showing them her blade, it was a royal blue and tinted with a turquoise color.

- Outside -

"Meg and Talon? But Talon was what she called-!" Tyson gasped out.

"That phoenix . . ." Max whispered.

"And she predicted the move it was going to use too." Kai got out through gritted teeth. "Damn! It was so obvious!!"

"Falcon . . . that was the name of the . . . the dragon." Ian mumbled. Tala was lost in his own thoughts, mouth agape.

"So that means Kat knew the wolf. Razor." Oliver whispered. Robert nodded.

"There's more here then meets the eye."

- Video -

"So, who goes first?" Akkiko wanted to know.

"Let's scout our opponent." Kat suggested and looked at the dish. Standing there was a boy with cruelly hacked brown hair.

"Ouch, he looks tough."

"This is the finals Akkiko, of COURSE he's tough." Meg said while rolling her eyes.

"Oh lay off." She mumbled.

"Who takes him?" Kat asked looking at the other two. Meg paused, then shook her head.

"I got him."

"Okay, go get him girl!" Akkiko cheered. Kat laughed.

"Turn him into mincemeat!"

- End -

The screen suddenly blanked out.

"What the-?!" Kenny shrugged apologetically.

"That was all that was on the video. It was labeled; The calm before the storm. I looked up some more info, apparently the BBA paid a man to monitor the Mystics team for their last two matches. But the second match was cut out, apparently something went wrong in that tournament, something that actually almost killed a blader, and managed to put four of them into the ER." He said softly.

"The ER?" Tyson gulped out. Kenny nodded. There was a deadly silence in the clearing, before Robert looked at the others.

"What secrets do those girls have?" He whispered.

---

The three teams had resumed their ever so happy trek. With their fair share of the occasional event. Such as the following;

- Debating on which direction to go

- Kai picking on Tyson

- Debating if they should stop for a rest

- Tala picking on Tyson

- Scaring off a bear that wanted to eat them

- Johnny picking on Tyson

- Tala pissing Kai off to the point where Kai tried to shoot him, but was stopped by Tyson and others

- Kenny picking on Tyson

- Enrique getting worried about the lack of daylight

- And everyone picking on Tyson.

(Needless to say, Tyson was not happy)

- 4 hours later (10:25pm) -

Tyson sighed gratefully as he collapsed onto the ground. Tala and Ian started up a fire and nodded to Brian who walked off, rifle in hands to look for something to kill.

"I'll go scout for water." Max said calmly and walked off. Funny thing though . . .

'I could almost swear I hear splashing and laughter.' He thought dimly as he brushed branches from his way. Back at camp . . .

"So, 3rd day and still no sign of them. I'm getting worried . . ." Enrique muttered.

"As if you weren't worried before this." Johnny muttered sarcastically, accompanied with a roll of his eyes. Enrique glowered, picked up a rock and . . . took aim . . . and let it fly.

CLUNK!  
"OW!! FING HELL!!" Johnny swore rubbing the back of his head and spinning around to glare at the others, who all looked away whistling. Tyson covered a snigger and Kai shook his head. Suddenly Tala and Spencer stood, nodded to each other and went off in almost the same direction as Max. Ray rolled his eyes.

"Sure thing Tala, don't bother telling us where you're going. It's not like we'll get worried or anything.

Really guys? Oh thanks, we appreciate it.

Oh don't mention it, it's not like we care." He declared dryly. Ian looked at him and raised his eyebrow.

"Is that the newest trend or something?" Ray blinked.

"Huh?"

"The wench did that too." Ian said crossing his arms and looking indignant.

"Wench?" Tyson repeated.

"His nickname for the girl." Spencer said calmly, before following Max off. Speaking of Max . . .

Max was continuing his trek through the forest path and blinked. Up ahead he could swear he saw lights and the sound of water met his ears. That wasn't the only thing that met his ears, was that . . . laughter? It WAS!

---

"So, 3 days. I wonder how Robert and those guys are doing." Kat said laughing as she splashed water over her face from where she sat in the hot spring. Meg giggled.

"Tyson's probably going into hysterics, not one of those guys could cook. NOT even ONE!" She said in shock. "I couldn't believe it." She said laughing.

"Wouldn't it be ironic if the guys went looking for us, and met up with each other?" Kat said laughing. Meg burst into fits of laughter as well.

"NO! Better yet! What if one of them went looking for firewood, and ended up seeing us in this hot spring?" She asked wiping away tears. Kat laughed so hard, she clutched her sides.

"Oh my god, that'd be so funny! Well, actually, seriously? That'd be creepy." She said calmly.

"Too bad Akkiko's not here, she'd have a laugh." Meg said calmly.

"I'm still a little shocked we let her cook." Kat declared dryly.

"But seriously, if one of the guys saw us in this hot spring, that'd be awkward."

"Yeah." Kat agreed. They had no idea how well fate was laughing at them.

To be continued . . . .

Disclaimer: I own plot, Akkiko, Talon, Falcon and Razor. Meg owns herself, Kat herself, and everything else belongs to . . . . whoever they are.


	9. 3 years ago

Chapter 9

"So, like I was saying, when you're fighting an opponent, always watch their blade and the blader, that way, you can spot flaws on both sides!" Oliver declared happily. Ray nodded.

"Sounds like a good strategy." He admitted. Tyson nodded, then looked around from where he sat, cross-legged, in the dirt next to the fire.

"Hey, where's Max?" Suddenly, right on cue, there was a sudden loud squeak, and out from the bushes, stumbling and cursing, was . . . -drum roll- Max!! He held a hand to his nose and was a bright red.

"Maxie? What happened! Are you okay?"

"I'b find." Max grumbled, his voice sounded slightly nasal. "Jusb, don go back therb."

"Huh? Why not?" Ray asked, wide eyed.

"Max, do you have a NOSEBLEED?" Oliver asked curiously.

"NO!" He protested, but sure enough, a tiny little droplet of red leaked out from behind his hand. Tyson shook his head.

"Let me go check." He said and ran off.

"TYSON! NO!!" Max cried out as his friend ran off. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then all of a sudden . . . .

"HOLY SHIT!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??"

"WHAT-?! TYSON!!!"  
"HENTAI!!!"

SMACK!!

WHAM!

THWACK!!

And suddenly, Tyson came stumbling back, bruised . . . and battered . . . and cursing. Followed by crashing, and suddenly Meg and Kat burst through the trees, towels wrapped around themselves and both were waving weapons, in Kat's case, a fan, and in Meg's case, a pan. Please note the heavy red blushes on their faces.

"Pervert!" Kat snapped. Suddenly Oliver whipped out a handkerchief and held it over his nose while slamming his eyes shut. Ray slapped his hands over his eyes while Max swore as his nosebleed returned. Kenny yelped and looked away hurriedly while Johnny's jaw dropped at the sight. Kai blinked in shock while Ian gaped, slack jawed.

"What the heck are you doing?!" He demanded. Enrique glared at him, then returned his gaze to more . . . imposing objects.

"Wow Kat, you look HOTT in a towel!!" Kat glared at him.

"HENTAI!" She shrieked and proceeded to smack him repeatedly over the head with her fan. Suddenly there was more rustling.

"Someone care to explain why I found a spear, a quiver of arrows and a bow next to a hotspring? Tala said dimly as he brushed branches from his view, then suddenly stopped to gape at the scene before him. Imagine if you will . . . Two girls, wet and towel clad, both holding weapons above their heads threateningly, Max and Oliver cursing nosebleeds, Ray walking around blindly, Tyson lying on the ground battered, Kai still in shock, Kenny covering his view with his laptop, Johnny stammering, Enrique cowering beneath Kat's onslaught, Robert just standing, having no idea what to say, and Ian, who looked like an awe struck fool.

"That's mine!!" Kat interrupted and darted forward to claim her spear. It was well over her head in height and had a crescent moon shaped blade.

"And the arrows and bow are mine!" Meg declared and snatched her weapons away. The bow was made of dark stained, and polished wood, tipped with silver at the ends which were sharp and deadly. The arrows were smooth ash and perfect with silver feathers that glinted in the firelight. Tala blinked.

"So uh . . ." He murmured. "Where's the wench?" Meg and Kat looked at each other.

"Uh, she's-"

"Hey guys!" A voice interrupted. "Dinner's ready back at the tree house-!!" Akkiko ran into the clearing, and the three teams couldn't help but notice the two swords she held in her hands with expert ease, both with black leather wrapped hilts and fine blades of steel. Suddenly she stopped as she saw the others. "Uh . . ."

"You have . . . . . a _treehouse_?" Kai asked, vein twitching.

"Uh! . . . . Noooooooooooo!" Akkiko lied wincing.

"You can HUNT?" Tala demanded.

"Why didn't you TELL us?!" Ian demanded.

"You never asked!!" Akkiko cried defensively.

"You were gone for three days, and it never occurred to you that we might be WORRIED??" Robert snapped. Akkiko lost her patience right then and there.

"STOP PICKING ON MEE!!!" She shrieked with her ever so damnable good lungs. It was there that Brian walked into the clearing, two rabbits slung over his shoulder. He took one look at the scene, rolled his eyes and tossed the rabbits next to the fire. That done, he slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked off saying;

"That's a headache I can already tell I don't want."

---

"Nice . . . . treehouse." Kai said dimly. Indeed it was, 6 large strapping oaks that were next to each other supported what had to be at least a 6 room house, with ladders and spiral stairs going around the base. Meg, Kat and Akkiko all sweatdropped.

"Um, yeah. We just . . . found it." Kat declared calmly while glancing at the other two who gave the tiniest of nods.

'We're probably better off telling them that we found it, instead of saying that Mr. Dickinson dropped by, with a construction crew to make it for us. . .' Akkiko told the others through a mental link. Meg sighed.

'I can imagine the anger that would cause.' She replied.

'Not to mention I hope they don't know about our bits.' Kat broke in.

"So, tell me. How is it you three know those bitbeasts that attacked us?" Ray asked quietly.

Silence.

At once all three girls said to each other;

'Busted.'

"Er . . . . that's a long story." Kat mumbled shifting her feet.

"One we'd rather not tell." Akkiko added.

"Look, I've spent three days tracking you down, through snow, mud, and rain. You'd better tell me wench, or I'll MAKE you." Ian snarled hefting his gun in her direction. The trio all looked at him squarely, and instantly, Tala, Kai and Robert all knew something wasn't right.

"What makes you think you can?" Akkiko asked softly. Ian growled.

"That's it!" He snapped and lunged at her. In a split second, she side stepped his attacked, swung her sword around and hit him with the flat side of her blade in the back. Ian fell flat on his stomach and glared.

"Like I said, what makes you think you can?" She asked. Her voice was icy cold, but Tala, who had spent the last week and a half studying her, knew otherwise. To the untrained observer, her eyes might've have seemed just as equally cold as her voice, but to him, it was pleading, remorseful, and filled with pain. He saw the look in Meg and Kat's eyes as well. Tala stepped up to Akkiko and stared her squarely in the eye.

"So, you want to challenge me too?" She asked softly. Tala paused for a moment, before smirking.

"No, I'm not Ian, I prefer using force only when necessary You will tell us what is going on because you owe it to us as a . . . . friend." Akkiko blinked. Then sweated a bit.

"You don't follow those rules!" She accused. Tala's smirk faded away.

"We don't." He admitted. There was a pause, before he continued. "But YOU do." He had her there. Akkiko sighed and looked at Kat and Meg who grinned.

"He's good. He's VERY good." Kat said slyly. Meg laughed. Tala shrugged it off.

"I've always been good with politics." He declared giving a slightly wolfish grin. Akkiko shook her head.

"I guess it's time to tell them. All of them." Kat whispered. Akkiko nodded and in a swift motion, crossed her arms over her chest, then swung them out again, the swords vanished in a streamline of light. The teams gaped. Kat tapped the spear lightly against her chest, causing the weapon to vanish in the same kind of light, while Meg first touched the top of her bow to her quiver, then as that vanished, overlapped her arms over one another, when they separated, the bow was nowhere to be seen. The bladers gaped wide eyed.

"Yes, well. I suppose we should explain all of that." Meg murmured flushing. Kat sighed.

"So, who has their copy?" Kat asked looking at the others. Meg glanced away at the sky, averting her gaze.

"You know I burned my copy." She whispered. Kai blinked. What were they talking about? Kat chuckled.

"I cast mine into the ocean near the Arctic circle." She murmured in reply. They looked at Akkiko who sighed, then reached into the inner folds of her vest she wore.

"I've kept mine with me at all times. I dare not let my mother find it." She explained solemnly. Reaching the inner seam, she rolled her eyes, hesitated only for a fraction of a second, before ripping the two fabrics open. From inside, fell out, a CD case. She picked it up and tossed it at Kenny.

"That will explain everything." Akkiko whispered softly. Kat nodded.

"And what is this?" Kenny asked as he popped the CD into his laptop. Meg answered that.

"The only known copy left of the tournament 3 years ago. Of the Mystics' final battle . . . . of OUR final battle."

- Video -

"Miss Ryuujin! Do you have any comments before your final match?"

"What about you Miss Roan?"

"Miss Briar?" Meg smirked, the three sat at a conference table, Mr. Dickinson was sitting next to them.

"You three are the heirs of three of the richest families in Asia, Europe and North America! Have you any comments?" Akkiko smirked.

"Yes. Actually I do." The cameras turned to her. She took a deep breath, and folded her hands. "My name is really Kimiko Ryuujin Cimatura, heir to the Knight of Cimatura." She said softly. Meg and Kat gaped at her, then laughed.

"Oh, so we'll start off with that. Okay, my name isn't Megan Briar, it is Magoto Satsuka. I am the eldest daughter of Lila Satsuka, a great great granddaughter to the last Emperor of Japan." Meg said calmly.

"And I am Katherine Muller. Daughter of Daniel Muller, the doctor who has contributed to several articles involving medicines and Jessica Muller, the lawyer who taught 16 courses this year to university students." Kat informed the news press. There was a sudden flurry of activity and the scribbles of pens.

"Miss Cimatura!!" A voice called. "What brought this sudden choice of telling the press your real names?" Akkiko smirked.

"That was for our own purposes, let's just say, our lives, even though we're famous, aren't as easy as they seem."

"Miss Muller! You're team is composed of only 11 and 12 year olds, yet you only appeared this year and managed to make your way to the world finals! How do you feel about this?" Kat blinked.

"Should I feel anything? I'm proud that we got this far. But I know, that without Meg or Akkiko by my side, I never would have gotten half as far."

"You wouldn't have even gotten out the door. We had to drag you the whole way." Akkiko teased. A murmur of light laughter went through the room.

"Miss Satsuka! Do you believe you have what it takes to win the final round?" Meg gave a charming grin.

"Of course. We plan to go all out tomorrow, and let nothing stop us! We even have a secret move prepared." Akkiko elbowed her playfully.

"Don't give it away." She said smirking.

"Do you have anything to say to your opponents before the match tomorrow?" A reporter asked as the three girls stood. They all grinned at the cameras, and said at once;

"Yes. Look out."

- Outside -

The screen went blank for a moment, before starting up again. This time, anticipation filled the clearing.

- Video -

"So, who goes first?" Akkiko wanted to know.

"Let's scout our opponent." Kat suggested and looked at the dish. Standing there was a boy with cruelly hacked brown hair.

"Ouch, he looks tough."

"This is the finals Akkiko, of COURSE he's tough." Meg said while rolling her eyes.

"Oh lay off." She mumbled.

"Who takes him?" Kat asked looking at the other two. Meg paused, then shook her head.

"I got him."

"Okay, go get him girl!" Akkiko cheered. Kat laughed.

"Turn him into mincemeat!" Meg looked back at them.

"But of course." She said with a sly voice and a wink, then, turning back around, stepped onto the platform. She then held her hands out in front of her, palms up, a thin line of white light flashed and she suddenly held her bow. Pulling the string back once, twice, three times. She nodded and grinned.

"There will be a total of three matches in today's finals!" The announcer declared. "All three matches will be sudden death! There will be no second or third rounds in a single match-up!"

"What?" Kat gasped.

"No way!" Akkiko cried in disbelief. Then shook her head.

"Magoto!!" She called out. Meg turned, if Akkiko used her real name, things were going to get serious. "Don't hold ANYTHING back okay?! Use your secret weapon!!" She cried. Kat nodded.

"Do your best and we'll do ours!!" She encouraged. Meg grinned. Then nodded.

"Today's contestants are Ira of the Demolition boys, and Meg of the Mystics! Bladers, are you ready?" The announcer cried. There was a nod, and suddenly, all lights focused on the arena, and the two bladers.

"Three!!" Ira grinned and set his launcher up. Meg closed her eyes and focused.

'Talon, let's do this.' She thought softly.

'We will win.' The voice replied softly.

"TWO!!" Suddenly Meg snapped her eyes open and jumped into the air, the people in the stadium could almost swear they saw two deep blue wings on her back as she flew at least 10 feet into the air. She took the bowstring between her index and thumb fingers as she came to the height of her jump.

"ONE!!" She pulled the string back to her ear, and suddenly, a blue arrow appeared.

"LET IT RIP!!" The voice screamed, and she loosed the arrow. In a sudden streak of blue it whistled down and slammed into the dish, raising a cloud of dust as Ira launched his blade. Meg wasted no time as she fell back to earth, landing gracefully on her feet, she held her arm up as if to direct her blade.

"Talon!! Ice storm!!" She cried. Instantly, her bitbeast rose up, blue and shimmering. It flew into the air, and with a burst of light, unleashed a furious blizzard. Ice pelted onto the blade which slowed under the weight of the wind and ice. Ira was undaunted.

"Reverse spin!" He cried, and suddenly his beyblade sparked before instantly spinning in the other direction, sending the ice chips bouncing off it's surface. Her opponent grinned and pointed his index finger, directly at her. Instantly a giant coyote was revealed and it howled at her. Suddenly something slammed into her gut, causing her to gasp in shock and fall to her knees, clutching her stomach.

"Meg!!" Kat and Akkiko cried at the same time. Meg choked and brought her hand away from her stomach. What had happened? The answer, was next to her shoe, he had slammed a rock from his attack into her gut, blood speckled her fingers. She looked up and glared.

"Cheap shot." She spat at him. Ira smirked.

"Can't take it? Then get out. This is the big leagues, not some happy little frilly game. It's the basic rule of life, the strong survive, and the weak-" he paused dramatically. "The weak die."

"Well then, I think you just sealed your own fate. Cause I refuse to be weaker then you." She declared standing. "Talon!! Strike him down!!" She cried, the giant ice phoenix shot towards his blade in a streak of blue and crashed into his, knocking his blade into the air. The blade shot straight up, and hovered in the air for a moment.

"Game over." Ira hissed. And in a sudden burst of red light, it pelted down and slammed right into her blade, shattering it. With the attack, came an explosion of rocks and earth. The rocks slammed into her body, smashing her already broken ribs and bruising her chest, arms and legs. She fell onto her back with a scream of pain. Akkiko and Kat ran forward shocked.

"Meg!!! Meg!!" Kat shrieked kneeling down next to her.

"YOU DIRTBAG!!" Akkiko screamed at Ira. "YOU FUCKING DIRTBAG!!" She cried, nearly crazy with fury. "YOU AND ME!! RIGHT HERE!! SCREW BLADES, I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN BARE HANDS!!" She took a step forward, only to be thrown back as her blade lit up, and suddenly, barring her path was Falcon.

'Do not be rash. Take the next match and put that anger to use.' Her bitbeast ordered. Akkiko scowled, then averted his gaze.

"Fine." She snapped. The medics carefully placed Meg onto a stretcher, and then was about to cart her off, when she stopped them.

"No." She moaned. Kat took her hand gently. Akkiko stood at her other side.

"What is it Magoto?"

"I stay. After all . . . if they did this to me, what will they do to you? You're my little sisters. I have to protect you." Meg said in what would have been a cheerful voice, if it didn't crack. Akkiko scowled and nodded.

"Alright. Kat, I take this match. Those bastards are going down." She hissed and placed her hand over Meg's for a moment, before walking up to the dish. Standing there was a boy with red hair chopped into something of a mowhawk. The announcer sighed.

"Up next, we have from the Demolition boys, Rakish. And from the Mystics, Akkiko. Bladers, are you ready?" He called. Akkiko glowered and jerked her arms to face down, in which a sword slid into her hands, as if they had slid down her sleeve. She held one over her chest, while the other pointed at the ground, held loosely as if she were at ease, but her face was a mask of anger, her eyes glinting with fury.

"I'm more then ready." She hissed at Rakish, who remained silent. He set his launcher and smirked.

"Three!!" Akkiko twisted a her hips a bit, so that the sword over her chest was pointed more backwards.

"TWO!!" Suddenly, a black streak appeared on the sword at her shoulder. It glowed softly in the dimming light.

"ONE!! LET IT RIP!!" She suddenly whipped her sword at the dish, sending the black streak careening into the dish and striking the center, unleashing a sudden wave of blackness that nipped Rakish's shoulder.

"Two can play this game." She taunted Rakish, who merely grinned. Suddenly, something curved by Akkiko, grazing her arm. And suddenly, pain flared, she gave a sudden small sharp cry of pain and held a hand to her shoulder, gently prying her hand away, she gaped. Blood.

"We'll make an example out of all of you." Rakish declared smugly. Akkiko stiffened. Kat tried to stop her terror from growing, and was failing.

"Akkiko!! Quit! Forfeit! I DON'T CARE! Get OUT of there!!" She screamed.

"NO!" Akkiko yelled back. "I'm doing this for you and Meg!!"

"Screw that!! It's not worth it!!"

"Katherine! You know full well that if you were up here you'd do it too!" She accused. Kat was silent. It was true. She would. With that taken care of, Akkiko turned back to Rakish and glared.

"So you have a few tricks. So what. Falcon!! Darkness wave!!" She cried and in all his glory, rose Falcon, a dazzling red dragon. He rose up a few feet, before giving a feral cry, unleashing bolts of darkness onto the beyblade stadium. Rakish sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Far too melodramatic. Diamond storm." He said calmly, and suddenly his Griffin bitbeast appeared in a haze of white. Unleashing a wind storm upon the girl. Akkiko could practically FEEL the wind whistle through her body, leaving her feeling lightheaded, before the pain. It spread through her entire body causing her to cry and fall to her knees. Her bitbeast roared it's anger and pain as Rakish's blade slammed into hers. Akkiko however, would not give in.

"This is for you Meg." She hissed. Looking up, arms wrapped around her shoulders. She glared, unwavering. "Falcon!! Final attack, Death Star!!" She ordered. Her blade glowed black in the icy wind, and suddenly vanished in a blur of gold and black, it's movements created a ten pointed start, Rakish's blade in the middle. The last hit sent his blade spiraling into the air.

"Game to me!" Akkiko cried triumphantly.

"Not likely. Hawk dive." Rakish interrupted. And suddenly, his blade flashed white, and wind came down from his blade, like a torrent of water. It struck Akkiko dead on, and she stiffened, time slowed for Kat.

"Akkiko!!" She screamed. Her friend didn't reply, her arms were suddenly on fire and she fell to her knees, blood falling down her arms. She collapsed on the edge of the stadium, her own blood coating her shirt. Rakish's blade fell down at meteor speed and slammed into her blade, shattering it, and landing the pieces next to her head.

"Akkiko!" Kat dashed forward, with every intention of helping her, when suddenly wind lashed out in front of her, it whistled in her ears and ruffled her hair. She stopped dead in her tracks to stare at Rakish.

"Stand back. I'm not done." He said grimly, with a smile at Akkiko's twitching form.

"You-!" Kat couldn't even find words the express her anger. Suddenly the anger built up in her and she clenched her fists so hard, her nails drew blood.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER YOU BASTARD!!" She screamed as loud as she could. Rakish laughed.

"Be silent." He ordered and snapped a finger in her direction, she managed to dodge the lash of wind just in time, it barely clipped a hair from her face. That was where Rakish went to far, that was the breaking point.

"Don't . . . .you EVER . . . touch my sister." Akkiko hissed from her spot, she managed to glare at him and for a moment, her eyes turned pure black.

"FALCON!!" Her shattered blade glowed for a moment, before sending a wave of darkness crashing into him, slamming him into the ground. Akkiko gave a weak smile of satisfaction, before her vision blanked out and she fell onto the ground. Kat ran up to her and kneeled down.

"Oh god. . . not you too." She whispered. "Someone get a doctor over here!!" She cried. Medics arrived within seconds, and loaded her onto a stretcher as well.

"It's mainly just the cuts. Nothing too serious." The doctor informed her. "Will she be staying here as well?" He wanted to know. Kat paused to think for a moment. Before nodding.

"Yes. She will. I know she'd want to."

"You . . . can back out if you want to." The announcer from next to her declared. She shook her head.

"No."

"No?!" He repeated in shock.

"If I quit now, Akkiko and Meg would never forgive me, -I- would never forgive myself for putting all of their efforts to waste. I finish this." Kat said firmly, turning to face the dish.

"Once, and for all."

Disclaimer: I own plot, OC bit beasts, and Akkiko. I just realized that I also sort of own Kat and Meg, because they're characters BASED on my friends. But neh, whatever, I'll just say Kat belongs to herself and Meg to herself. It's easier.


	10. Moving forward

Chapter 10

- Video -

Kat clenched her fists from where she sat on the bench. She couldn't BELIEVE this! This was HER match! And those damned judges were actually talking about cutting it right there! Fuck no! SO what if they had already lost! This was IMPORTANT! Couldn't they see that! Finally, a judge walked up to her.

"We have decided, that for your safety, we will stop the match ri-"

"FUCK YOU!" Kat broke in. Normally, she would have been appalled that such a foul oath had come from her mouth, but this was hardly normal. Her two friends needed medical attention, and both had lost their partners, she would know their pain when they awoke, and the least she could do was tell them that at least she had avenged their loss.   
"Now Miss Muller!"

"Don't pull that formal crap on me!" She hissed, her voice laced with venom. "I HAVE to do this! It's not a choice. My friends lost their bitbeasts! Don't you understand!" She demanded. The judge blinked.

"Bitbeasts? Oh, those supposedly mythical beasts you claim exist in your blade. Well Miss Muller. I'm sure you can get another bitbeast at a toy store." Kat couldn't believe her ears. Sure, bitbeasts had just been discovered in blades recently, and maybe not all believed in them, but . . . . for god's sake! Did they just think those attacks had come from only plastic and bits of paint! Ridiculous! It was albeit that only a few could actually see them, but come on!

"I'm fighting this last match, and you can't stop me."

"We'll disqualify you from future tournaments." The judge threatened, it was a hollow threat.

"I don't care. It's not like I'll be blading in a tournament again after this, don't you remember? My team lost their bitbeasts, and besides. I'm going to prove to the world, once and for all." She glanced over her shoulder to gaze at him, in that instant he was frozen, it was if her eyes were endless and icy. "That bitbeasts do exist." And with that, she slammed the door shut.

-

"You're mine!" The last contestant of the Demolition boys taunted. His bright blue hair was spiked all over the place and a long scar ran down the side of his face. Kat was undaunted and simply summoned her spear. Meg and Akkiko who had come around earlier during her argument with the judge, sat on the bench, and despite their body's protests, both were leaned forward, backs straight with tension.

'Goddess protect my sister.' Meg thought.

'C'mon Kat. I know you can pull through.' Akkiko repeated in her mind, both of them, clenched the shattered and now blank pieces of their bits in their hands. Akkiko felt a small itch on her hand, she ignored it. Most likely caused by her fingerless gloves, she eased them gently, then felt a pang of curiosity overwhelm her for a moment. A memory came back. She had received these on her 11 birthday, but never known why. With them, had come the bit piece that held Falcon, and yet . . . to this day, she hadn't never figured out how, or why. Meg sighed and kept tapping the archer wrist bands on her arms, she had received them on her 11 birthday, along with the bit Talon. She had never questioned it, just knew . . . it was meant to be. Kat set herself for a launch, her spear with it's crescent top was over her shoulder, her body straight.

"The last contestants of the world finals are; Kat from the Mystics! And Lyle from the Demolition boys! Are you ready?" He called. Kat didn't bother a reply while Lyle set his launcher.

"Three!" Kat took five steps back. She was going to give it everything she could.

"Two!" She ran forward and jumped into the air the blade of her spear still at her shoulder.

"One!" Kat did a quick backwards spin in the air for momentum, her eyes closed. Memories flashed before her eyes.

- "Katstup . . . ."

"Don't call me that." Kat growled glaring at Akkiko who grinned.

"C'mon Katsup!" Meg laughed.

"You can't laugh at me cereal box." Kat retorted grinning. Meg stopped laughing abruptly.

"That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair." Akkiko broke in with a sly wink.-

_Life isn't fair . . ._

"LET IT RIP!"

"GO RAZOR!" She cried as she swung her spear down, the blade dislodged itself from the spear and flew down spinning at the dish. Lyle had already launched his blade, and just as it landed, the crescent blade flashed white and struck it dead on separating into two separate gray streaks of wind. The two streaks flew to the sides with the impact, before joining and forming her blade.

Kat landed on her feet and held her spear beside her body, like a ruler. Lyle was not impressed.

"You have your flashy tricks, but I have power." He hissed and raised his hand. Light flared, and Kat knew what he was doing. Well . . . it's a good thing she had a back up plan.

"Razor!" She cried.

"Dagger!" Lyle cried. Both bitbeasts were revealed. Kat's silver wolf, Lyle's ice eagle.

"Razor! Use wind crash!" She ordered. Her bitbeast howled, and anyone watching, could suddenly swear they saw the lights darken. The judges gasped, they had seen a flash of outlines. Outlines of great beasts hovering over the beyblade stadium. Was it just possible. . . that bitbeasts really existed! Wind suddenly, in a tornado of power, appeared and began to attack anything in it's path. Mainly, Lyle' blade.

"I won't attack you. I'm not that dirty." Kat snapped, her anger mounting. Lyle smirked.

"Then you are weak." He snapped his fingers, only once. People in the stadium had the experience of holding their breaths, they could almost see the outlines again, clearer this time. Dagger rose into the air, and flapped his wings, with a screech it unleashed ice in a torrent. The ice flew down like daggers striking Razor, her wolf bitbeast howled.

"Razor!" Kat cried shielding her ice from the ice storm, unfortunately, she herself was at danger. The ice needles cut into her skin, drawing blood. Deep gashes were opened as she cried in pain.

"Kat!" Akkiko and Meg cried as one. Lyle laughed cruelly. Once again, the outlines of the bitbeasts became clearer to those watching. Now they weren't flashing, they were becoming permanent.

"Give up." Lyle taunted. Kat glared at him, arms crossed protectively over her chest.

"You wish!" She hissed. "Razor! Strike back! Don't let him win!" She cried, her blade shot forward, only to miss. "Dammit. . . ." Kat hissed. Lyle laughed again, with that same cruel and chilling laugh.

"Don't even bother. I can anticipate your every move." Kat ignored him.

"Try again!" She called to Razor. Again her blade attacked, and again, she missed. Lyle chuckled.

"You don't learn do you? Another lesson is in order I think. Dagger!" He snapped his fingers again. Once more, a torrent of ice fell down, daggers pierced her skin, drawing blood. Razor howled his agony. Akkiko and Meg growled, both stood up, their hands clutching their shattered bits. Akkiko opened her hand and looked at her bit, she was trembling.

"Meg." She croaked. Meg looked at her. "We only have one choice if we want her to come out of this alive." Meg shook her head.

"No! He might not!"

"Meg. . . you know he will kill her. He won't stop until he has, and he will use his ability of ice and wind to keep the battle going until then." Akkiko interrupted, voice soft. Meg was silent, she looked at her own shattered bit. Then sighed, a lone tear fell onto the broken piece.

'What do you think?' She asked Talon.

'We agree.' Talon whispered.

'Akkiko is right. He won't stop until he has killed her.' Falcon agreed. Meg trembled now.

"Alright." She mouthed, her voice barely a whisper. Akkiko and Meg both closed their eyes, and focused.

"Holy light, from so long ago." Meg whispered.

"The radiance you shined. The purity you created." Akkiko continued.

"Tainted by mans' greed."

"Their lust and hate."

"You vanished, until . . ."

"Hope was seen in the hearts of the young."

"Untainted purity in the hearts and souls of humans."

"We call upon such a power once again. . ."

"Are you ready?" Meg whispered. Akkiko nodded at her, and there was a reply from their bitbeasts.

'Yes.' Both girls took a deep breath, and with shaky voices. Continued.

"Anamchara . . . you who we have bonded with." Akkiko whispered.

"An eye for an eye. A soul for a soul." Meg continued.

"We now take that bond, to protect another."

"At the cost of our own souls."

"Consequences there may be."

"We shall accept them all."

"For the chance-"

"To save-"

"Our friend." Both finished. Their bodies began to glow. Akkiko was surrounded in a black aura, Meg a blue mist. It was then, that white light flashed in the area. And that was when, a single, unanimous gasp was heard. The world, was able to see bitbeasts. The judges were shocked to see to giant beasts fighting the arena, originating from the blades. The audiences were astounded. World wide viewers didn't know what to say. EVERYONE could see the bit beasts. Akkiko and Meg however, had bigger problems. Both held the shattered bit pieces in their hands, each glowed their own respective color.

"Talon."

"Falcon." At once . . . both girls, threw the pieces at Kat.

"For the Mystics. One last battle." Meg whispered. The pieces sailed through the air, before Akkiko's flashed black, Meg's flashed blue, and suddenly Falcon and Talon appeared. Both flew in a spiral towards Kat, before circling around her, Falcon wove himself around her and protected her from ice, while Talon circled over head, as if silently daring Lyle to try and attack Kat again. Kat blinked and looked back at Akkiko and Meg, who gazed sternly back.

"You-" Kat gasped. "You . . . IDIOTS!" She shrieked. "WHY? You still have a chance to save them!" She yelled.

"We chose . . . to save you instead." Meg choked. Akkiko looked away. Kat looked, then closed her eyes.

"Thank you . . ." She murmured.

"Hey! Pay attention!" Lyle demanded. Kat turned to look at him, and opened her eyes. Slowly. Her eyes were icy, endless.

"No. You pay attention. I've had it. You're going to lose. And badly." She hissed.

"Yeah right." Lyle taunted.

"Razor. Wind streak." She said softly. Wind erupted from all around, crisscrossing over each other, it flew towards the blade and attacked it from all sides. Lyle was shocked.

"WHAT!"

"Destroy his blade." Kat whispered. Her blade glowed silver. "Our last battle Razor. Our last battle." She repeated over and over. Razor howled, not in agony this time, but one of a wolf who scented a finish to his prey. In a split second, he flew forward, Lyle however, had a change in game plan.

"Do not think you will walk away unscathed!" He hissed. With a snap of his fingers, his bitbeast rose in a flash, too fast for Falcon or Talon to stop him. His bitbeast clapped it's wings once, then wrenched them apart, unleashing a circle of blue. Among them, were two giant icicles. They flew. . . at Akkiko and Meg.

"NO!" Kat cried out turning to look at her friends, who were paralyzed, even if they had been able to move, it wouldn't have worked because of their injuries. There was a sudden roar and screech. Akkiko was flung onto the ground, hand over her face. She opened her eyes a crack, then blinked and looked up. What she saw. . . made her world tear apart.

"No . . . NO!" Meg looked as well. She too wished she hadn't, her world fell. "NO!" Akkiko sobbed, tears were running freely now. "FALCON!" Her bitbeast had taken the icicle for her. What happened next . . . had she not seen it with her own eyes, Kat would never have believed it happened. Both Meg and Akkiko's bitbeast split into two. One black, one white. The white form of the spirits were sealed into an object on their hands. In Akkiko's case, her gloves, and in Meg's case, her wrist bands. The black part however, solidified. Then vanished in a small explosion knocking her two friends back. Kat was silent. Then she turned, to look at Lyle. And perhaps, for the first time in his life. Lyle felt true fear. Her eyes had turned icy cold, colder then his bitbeast.

"You . . ." Kat couldn't even find a word to describe this gutless stinking worm. "DIE!" She snarled. Razor, feeling her anger, howled. Wind flew in a wave of power. Smashing into Lyle, he was sent flying back, right into the wall, causing spider cracks. His team was in shock. Kat snarled angrily as the wind hacked up Lyle's blade to bits. Feeling a little more satisfied, she smiled grimly, and started to walk off the platform.

"Don't even think to walk away unhurt." Lyle hissed. Kat froze. His bitbeast gave a final death cry, before it vanished. Though not before loosing a final icicle at Kat. Meg opened her eyes, just in time.

"K-Kat!" She croaked. Then her eyes widened. "KAT!" Kat choked as sudden pain sprouted from her stomach. Gasping, she looked down, and drew away her fingers. Blood. The icicle had pierced her skin and gone a quarter of the way in. She choked, then fell to her knees.

'You will not die.' A voice hissed.

"R-Razor?"

'I will not let you die.' Razor murmured walking up to her as a wolf.

"B-but! If you do that then you'll! You'll lose your power and!"

'Enough.' Razor ordered her sternly and clamped his jaws around the ice dagger enticing a hiss of pain from Kat. He yanked it out in a swift move, then tossed it aside. Looking back at Kat, his muzzle was coated with blood now.

"Razor. . ."

'I will miss you kit.' Kat closed her eyes. Medics arriving on the scene, couldn't believe what they saw. Silver white light flashed once, coating Kat's body, her wound healed as crystalline tears fell.

'Razor . . .' Then . . like the other two bitbeasts. Razor separated into two parts, white and black. The white sealed itself in her bracers, while the black solidified, then vanished.

-

"And for today's news. At the Beyblade world championship finals, the last match became a disaster. Four bladers were all placed in the ER, and one is lying in a near state death. It had just been officially declared, the fourth blader, known as Katherine Muller, has been brought into stable area and is expected to live. The other bladers, known as Lyle Vladimir, Kimiko Cimatura, and Magoto Satsuka, have all reached stable status, and are expected to make a full recovery. . ."

- End -

Silence. No one had any idea of what to say. Even Tala was at a loss for words. Meg cleared her throat.

"When . . ." She choked and Akkiko placed a comforting hand on her back. "You see . . . when you bond with a bitbeast. You exchange a part of your soul with each other. In our case . . . we exchanged half. We had half of their soul . . . and they had half of ours. After our bits had been shattered. . . well, there was a chance that we could take the half we still had of their souls and anchor their spirits into another bit. But instead . . . we made the sacrifice. When we did the chant . . . we put the half of our bitbeast's soul into the shattered bit parts. So . . . when the icicle . . ." She cut off and looked away. Akkiko continued with a calm voice, but her eyes were bright with pain.

"When the icicle struck, it took all their strength, in all aspects, it should have killed their anchoring in this world. But . . . I guess we did manage to keep some of their spirit with us, and thus . . . when the icicle struck, their soul and bodies, were split. Their soul was split into two halves, good. And bad. The good part was sealed into these." Akkiko held up her gloves. "The bad . . . got the bodies. Even so . . . the bad considers the good part of them still to be themselves. As such . . . they seem to think that sealing us will free the rest of them. But we can't do that yet . . ."

"Why not." Tala asked. Kat cleared her throat.

"Because we still have to regain revenge on Ira, Rakish and Lyle."

"Isn't that selfish?" Oliver murmured. Meg shook her head.

"No, because until we defeat them, the souls of our bitbeasts, will never rest. And they must be defeated . . . with us."

"And . . . . the weapons?"

"The weapons are created with the spirits of our bitbeasts. It's not that powerful since we only have half of their soul . . ." Ian gulped. From what he had seen, his entire team couldn't stop that's bitbeast's attack, and she had with a chant and a sword. Only at HALF power? What about full?

"So you left because you knew . . ." Kai trailed off.

"They would attack you to get to us." Meg mumbled.

"You idiot! Did you think we can't protect ourselves!" Tala snapped. Akkiko looked at him.

"Ian, is as equal in power to most of you. And he couldn't even touch me, and Falcon is far more stronger then me. I didn't THINK you could protect yourselves Tala." Akkiko whispered. "Sorry . . . but I KNEW."

"Is that how you felt about us?" Robert asked of Kat who averted his gaze.

"I thought . . . . you would hate me for that. You're the first people, aside from Meg and Akkiko, to actually pay attention to me. I know it's selfish . . . but I didn't want to lose you. Not ever. I . . . I was scared for all of you." Kat whispered, tears threatening to fall. Oliver walked up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he smiled.

"Kat, we care about you." He said calmly.

"Yeah. You're one of us now . . . . I guess." Johnny grumbled.

"I'm sorry. I understand in you're angry. But . . . we did it to keep you safe." Meg mumbled. Kai glared.

"That's no excuse." He rasped. Meg looked up.

"Huh?"

"I'm team captain, and I have a rule that says we watch each others' back. Got it?" Kai snapped, a tint of red on his cheeks that might have been a blush.

"Am . . . am I a part of your team?"

"Kai's initiation of team, means you've stayed with him for half a day and he hasn't told you to get lost or he hasn't killed you yet." Tyson said with a grim smile. Silence. Meg broke out laughing.

"I WAS SERIOUS!" Tyson complained. Meg continued laughing. Akkiko looked at Tala.

"Gomen. Sorry Tala." Tala rolled his eyes.

"Like the stupid wench. You've picked up the bad habit of blaming yourself for things that couldn't be controlled." He said sarcastically. Akkiko glared.

"HEY! SORRY IF I JUST WANTED TO LOOK OUT FOR YOU! SORRY IF I'M NOT-" she choked. "NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!" She shrieked, voicing her greatest pain. Tala rolled his eyes yet again. Ian glowered.

"Don't you get it yet!" Akkiko blinked.

"Huh?"

"We accept you because your smarter then the average class airhead." Brian said quietly.

"I agree. You don't do stupid things, like complain about your hair or how cold it is. True you do complain, but only to vent anger, you don't throw stupid tantrums, and you pull your weight in work. We approve of that." Spencer told her. "We accepted you and your habits a long time ago." Akkiko was stunned. Then she blushed and looked down while twiddling her fingers.

"Uh . . . thanks." She stammered. Tala rolled his eyes . . . . .again.

"Say . . . Kat?" Enrique said grinning suddenly. Kat's alarms went off.

"What?" She demanded suspiciously.

"Remember the terms of our agreement?" He asked winking. Kat blinked.

"Huh?"

"We play hide and seek, and if I found you, I got to kiss you." He declared.

"**_WHAT?"_** Everyone in the clearing looked at Kat who suddenly blushed as memory returned.

"Oh no . . ." Enrique wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh yes." Robert sighed.

"Well, it is custom to keep your word. Even in such an awkward occasion like this . . ."

"Oh man, I'm gonna go look around, if I see this, I'm gonna hurl." Johnny muttered and tramped away. Enrique walked up to Kat and smiled. Kat rolled her eyes.

"Do it quick and put me out of my misery."

"Not with all these people watching!" He said with a death glare at the others, who suddenly scattered. Even Meg and Akkiko. He smiled. "Better." Kat blushed and looked skywards praying, suddenly she took a deep breath.

"Enrique . . .?"

"Hm? Yeah?" He asked turning to look at her.

"I'm . . . I'm so sorry . . ." She mumbled. Enrique blinked.

"For what?"

"Well . . . for worrying you and!" Enrique put a finger to her lips with a wink.

"Kat. You always worry me. I wish you wouldn't be so bottled up all the time. I mean, it can't be healthy. And I can sort of tell you're worried. I mean, if you really don't want to do this, I can save it for later." He offered kindly. Kat blushed even deeper.

"No I . . ." She stammered. "I've just . . ." The next part was a mumble. "Never kissed anyone before."

Silence.

Enrique gaped in disbelief, before chuckling.

"Well then, I have no right to take a first kiss for a bet. Call me later then okay?" He said slyly. Kat flushed.

"Enrique . . . ."

"Yeah?"

'Aw man . . .how do you SAY something like this!' Kat thought embarrassed.

"I . . . I want . . ."

"Huh? Want what?" The Italian blader asked confused. Kat gulped.

"I want YOU to be my first kiss." Enrique . . . was stunned.

". . . . Me?"

"Y-yes." Kat stammered. Enrique smiled.

"Alright." And walking up, he tucked his fingers under her chin, tilted her face up a tiny bit, and pressed his lips gently to hers as both of them closed their eyes.

-

Meg and Tyson walked side by side through the trees.

"A bet. I can't believe Kat made a bet like that . . ." Meg muttered shaking her head.

"Hey, don't I get a reward for finding you?" Tyson asked in dry humor. Meg thought for a moment. Then smiled.

"What KIND of reward?"

"You know, like a five course meal or something." Tyson said shrugging. Meg smirked.

"Tyson . . . have you ever had a girlfriend?" Tyson tripped in shock. Pulling his face from the ground he blinked.

"WHA-WHAT?"  
"You know, a girlfriend. Someone you kiss, hug, break curfew for." Tyson blushed.

"Yes! No! Sort of!" He yelled vainly. Meg laughed and helped Tyson up. Brushing off leaves and dirt, they set off again.

"So. . ."

"So what?"

"You never answered. What's my reward?" He asked. Meg grinned and kissed him on the lips for a brief moment. Pulling back she gave a quick and smug grin.

"That's your reward." And she walked off laughing, leaving a stunned Tyson. It took a few minutes for what she had done to click . . . . and then . . .

"Hey Meg! Can we try that again!"

-

Akkiko sat on the edge of a river, dangling her feet in the lukewarm water. Glancing up, she saw the stars poke out from behind the clouds and sighed.

'So much has happened tonight. I wonder if things will ever be the same.' She thought dimly. She didn't notice a figure come up behind her.

"Hey." Tala said softly. Akkiko jumped in surprise, turning to face him, she lost her footing on the slippery rocks, and grabbed the nearest object for balance. In this case, Tala. Both fell into the river with a large splash.

Silence.

Tala glared at Akkiko, Akkiko blushed and hoped desperately Tala wouldn't try to kill her, both were eye to eye as she laid on top of him. Tala was glaring at her with his gray eyes . . . and suddenly . . . he burst out laughing. Akkiko gaped at him, then started laughing too.

"This time I did fall in I guess." She said blushing.

"Next time I'll just stay away from you and rivers."

"Funny. Very funny."

"No, not funny. I'm wet."

"So am I!"

"I shouldn't be wet. It's your fault I'm wet."

"Oh excuse me!" Akkiko snapped. Tala grinned.

"You look cute wet."

Silence.

"Wait- what?" She stammered, her blush suddenly a bright red.

"You look cute wet." Tala repeated patiently.

"I'm . . . cute . . .?"

"Wet." Tala finished. Akkiko raised her eyebrow.

"Are you flattering me?"

"I would hope so. And don't think I'm a masher, I just don't have enough experience in that field."

"Okaaaaaay . . . . so uh . . . what experience DO you have in this field?" Akkiko stammered. Tala smirked.

"You really want to know?"

"Er . . . yeah."

"Come closer."

"Oh . . . .okay." Akkiko leaned in close, and Tala moved close to her ear, as if to whisper. Instead, he kissed her cheek, causing Akkiko's eyes to widen. She looked at him in disbelief as he grinned smugly.

"Tal!" She squeaked when he sealed her lips. He just never thought he'd do it with his own.

Disclaimer: I do not own, I only own plot, OC bitbeasts and Akkiko. Kat owns herself, Meg herself, and yada. yada, whatever.


	11. Weird stupid and pointless

Chapter 11

"This is really not fair." Enrique whined.

"Well Johnny said we should practice to better learn how to protect ourselves." Kat said sweetly.

"Way to go Johnny. . ." Tyson grumbled.

"I said you should practice, yes." Agreed Johnny. "But I didn't mean that you could practice on US!" Indeed, the bladers were all lined up neatly in a row, Akkiko, Kat and Meg all had their weapons and were grinning wildly. Kai, Tala and Robert stood off to the side.

"How come THEY don't have to do anything?" Ian whined. Akkiko gave a smug grin.

"Because they're captains. They don't HAVE to practice."

"And you do. So get to it." Kat said cheerfully. Meg grinned wildly and looked at them each in turn, first Johnny, then Oliver, then Enrique, then- she stopped dead gaping at Enrique with fear etched into her face.

"Meg?" Enrique blinked at her. Meg didn't respond she simply set down her bow, and picked up a very large stick and inched closer to Enrique.

"M-Meg? Why are you looking at me like that?" Enrique asked sweatdropping.

"Don't move!" She hissed. Kat and Akkiko blinked at her. She inched forward, sweat running down her temple . . .

"There's something on your leg . . ." She hissed at him. Akkiko raised her eyebrow.

"Meg, what are you?"

"SPIDER!" She shrieked, and swung with the stick at . . . . well . . . . think between the legs . . . up more . . . towards the middle . . . . Enrique yelped.

* * *

"Dude, that HAD the hurt." Johnny said scratching the side of his head and shrugging. Kat was currently cooing

Interruption -

Kat: AKKIKO! REWRITE THAT!

Akkiko: Which part? The part about Enrique getting smacked? Or you cooing?

Kat: (twitch) guess.

Akkiko: Oh boy. . . .

Meg: Evil spider. . . .

Akkiko: (grin) Hey Meg. There's a large furry spider on your back.

Meg: SHRIEK!

Akkiko: Hahaha . . .

Meg: Kat?

Kat: Meg?

Both: Kill her.

Akkiko: EEP!

End -

"Jesus, you okay Enrique?" Kat asked. Both were in a room in the treehouse, Enrique in obvious pain. Her only reply was a groan. Kat rolled her eyes.

"Aw, poor Enrique." She said sarcastically. When he mumbled something, she leaned in to hear him, and that was when . . . he rolled over and threw his arms around her in a hug. Kat blinked wide eyed. . . what was he doing with his hand?

* * *

Outside in the hallway, Meg and Akkiko were walking down the . . . hallway.

"So, how do you think Enrique's doing?" Meg asked somewhat embarrassed.

"Better no doubt." Akkiko said with a sly wink. "After all, Kat's in there right n-"

"HOW DARE YOU GROPE ME? HENTAI!" A voice shrieked along with

SMACK!

Suddenly the door to their side swung open and out stomped an angry and . . . blushing Kat.

"Er . . . Kat?"

"WHAT?" She snapped.

"You're blushing." Akkiko said lamely.

"I AM NOT!" She retorted and stormed off muttering. Akkiko blinked.

"Oh my." She said in monotone and looked into the room where Kat had just come out of. Enrique was there with a rather large handprint on his face.

"Should we help him?" Akkiko asked Meg.

"Naw." Meg replied.

"Okay. So, how do you think . . . ."

* * *

"So, what do you think about the new couples?" Johnny asked Robert. Robert thought for a moment. Enrique returning with Kat, his arm around her waist and her not complaining.

"Weird." Robert replied after some thought.

* * *

"So, Kai." Ray said dimly while shaving some bark off a branch.

"Hm?"

"What do you think about Tyson and Meg?" He asked grinning as he continued shaving the branch. Kai thought about how Meg had come through the clearing yesterday, smiling like an idiot, and Tyson, following behind her, looking like a bigger idiot. Obviously love stricken.

"Stupid."

* * *

"Hey Brian?"

". . . ."

"BRIAN!"

"I'm listening idiot." Ian growled, then rolled his eyes.

"What do you think about Akkiko and Tala?" Brian thought for a moment, his mind remembered last night, about how their captain had come into the clearing, holding the wench's hand and both were absurdly wet. He sneered.

"Pointless."

* * *

Interruption -

Kat: WHAT? Have these guys never heard of LOVE?

Akkiko: (sighs)

Kat: No, seriously! Why do they think love is weird?

Meg: And stupid and pointless.

Kat: (glare)

Akkiko: It's for humor purposes.

Kat: But seriously, LOVE! Work with me people!

Meg: She's just upset about the kiss with Enrique. (grin)

Kat: To quote Heero; OMAE O KOROSU!

Meg: Now Kat, not everyone understands Omae o Korosu as a multi-purposed phrase.

Kat: Good, cause I only have one meaning for it. DIE! (raises axe)

Meg: EEP! (runs off)

Akkiko: . . . . . I think I'll just get back to the story . . . . (shuffles off)

Jocose: Minor translation! Omae o korosu is a saying of Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing, another anime series. It means roughly; I'm going to kill you. Or something along those lines. :)

Akkiko: . . . . what are you doing here?

Jocose: Haunting you. X3

Akkiko: Oh joys.

End -

"Hey Enrique. Nice to see you're still alive." Johnny said smirking as Enrique limped up to them.

"Johnny, be quiet before I shove you into the path of a raging bear." He growled as he flopped down onto the ground.

"Oh . . . poor wee little baby. Do we need momma to look after us now" Johnny taunted in a baby voice. "Where's Kat momma?" Enrique felt a vein twitch. "C'mon Enrique! Go get momma!" Twitch . . . twitch . . .

"What'sa matter? Need your bottle?"

"THAT'S IT!"

* * *

"So Max, how do you think we can get off this island?" Kenny asked as he walked down a forest path.

"Beats me Chief. This place is surrounded by water, we're stuck!" Max said dimly as he brushed branches from his pathway.

"Yeah . . . maybe we should try smoke sig-"

"MOMMA THIS MCGREGOR!"

WHAM!

Max and Chief looked up as a form went soaring overhead.

"Hey uh . . . Chief?" Max asked, still looking at the airborne Johnny.

"Yes Max?"

"Didn't the letter Mr. Dickinson wrote say we would only get off if we learned teamwork?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think that means everyone?"

". . . . . . . probably." The two looked at each other and sighed. To quote Akkiko;

"We're gonna be here forever."

* * *

In the evening, the group had assembled at the treehouse. Spencer, Brian, Kai, Ray, Johnny and Robert had already stopped by the caves and gathered what supplies they had thought they might need. It was an 8 bedroom house, not including kitchen and two separate bathrooms mind you. No electricity, the entire place was lit by lamp, but the most thankful part of the place, was that it had windows, and was warm. Not to mention the thought of soft beds was welcoming, along with hot baths, instead of cold river water. So, there were not too many complaints. The girls settled into a familiar pattern the minute everyone was in, leaving the boys . . . .well, bluntly put, stunned.

"I got hunting." Meg said.

"HE-ELL no." Akkiko broke in. "You hunted last night. This is my night."

"She's got a point Meg."

"Damn. Fine, I'll cook."

"Tyson, Ray, Max and Chief. You guys help me get wood. With all of you, we'll need lots of it." Kat said with a jerk of her finger. The group vanished.

"I still can't believe you can hunt." Tala muttered rolling his eyes. Akkiko winked teasingly at him, then vanished down the steps.

"WOO HOOO!" She cried. Ian stuck his head out the window just in time to see Akkiko jump off the stairway banister like a slide. He shook his head.

"She's dangerous."

"And you just noticed?" Meg muttered sarcastically. "Okay, you guys can get fresh water. We'll need BUCKETS of it." She ordered absently minded. "Water guys can be Robert, Johnny, Enrique, provided he can walk, and Spencer. Brian can go-" She was interrupted as Brian picked up a shotgun, loaded it and glared at her threateningly. She winced. "Okay, okay. You can hunt." Without a reply, Brian left. Meg sighed.

"How the hell did Akkiko spend an entire two weeks with that guy?" She mused. "Oi, never mind. Kai can go keep lookout with Tala."

"For what?" Ian demanded. Silence. Meg gave him a careful look, and he gulped back another flurry of questions. The bitbeasts, how could he have forgotten? The moment of awkwardness passed and Meg was herself again. "Ian, Oliver and myself can start cooking." She said cheerfully.

1 ½ hours, 3 burned pots, 6 arguments and 2 fires later . . . -

Ian was looking put down, he had a sulky air around him, and with little char marks all over, no one asked why. Meg rolled her eyes.

"Good grief! How on EARTH did you survive for those two weeks! Did Akkiko do all the cooking?" She demanded.

"Of course, what else was the wench good for?"

". . . . wench?" Meg demanded, eyebrow twitching. Ian shrugged.

"It's a nickname thing." Tala called down from the window. He and Kai were on the roofs, just . . . a good distance apart mind you. Meg fumed.

"YOU CALL HER W?"

"Yo shorty." Akkiko said with a whistle. "The hell happened to you?"

"Cooking, happened to Ian." Oliver said chuckling, but shut up when Ian death glared him. Akkiko rolled her eyes and smacked him over the head with the flat of her sword.

"Be nice." She ordered. Ian rubbed the abused spot and glared at her, she however, was used to it.

"Here ya go Meg. Hope ya like rabbit." Akkiko said easily and tossed . . . .1, 2, 3, 4, 5 rabbits! Ian gaped at her.

"Honestly! You didn't have to kill that much!" Akkiko blinked.

"On the contrary. Of course I did." She replied as Meg set to skinning them. When two of the animals were cleaned of fur, Akkiko took the now bloody things and started out the door.

"Akkiko! God, use a bag or something! You're getting blood all over the floor!"

"I'll lick it up later!" Akkiko yelled back in a teasing voice. Meg hacked. Grinning at the effect, Akkiko jumped onto the hand-railing and slid down to the bottom. Jumping off at the bottom, she whistled softly and waited. Ian looked on in surprise. Tala and Kai, who had heard the whistle also looked on. Suddenly, a small form crawled out from the bushes.

"HOLY HELL!" Ian yelped jumping. It was a wolf. Correction, several wolves. Each with white teeth and gleaming fangs. Tala tensed, ready to jump . . . when he stopped himself. The wolves came up to Akkiko and sniffed her fingers, not as a sign of affection, but only to clean the digits of red blood. That done, they turned to massacring the rabbits, seven wolves and two rabbits wouldn't have been a lot . . . but it is when the wolves are only pups.

"What the!" Tyson gasped as he and the group entered the clearing.

"The wolves' pack . . ." Kat whispered looking away. "Was killed."

"By what?" Ray muttered, still looking on at the scene in awe.

"By Talon, Falcon, and Razor." Meg interrupted as she came out and leaned on the banister. "The wolves' parents . . ."

"Their entire pack . . ."

"Stood in the way of the bitbeasts when they tried to attack us." Akkiko finished as the wolves licked up the last of the carcass. "The dumb idiots stood up to something they KNEW would kill them and . . ." Shudders wracked the girl's body. She turned to face them, eyes blazing with hate. "And they fought anyway."

"The most we can do to honor them, is take care of the young ones until they can fend for themselves."

"And how do you plan to raise them?"

'They don't. I do. After all, I am kin.' A voice of wind whispered to all in the clearing just as the others entered. Brian dropped the bird he had shot in shock, because there, perched on a sturdy branch in a tree. Stood a giant wolf, silver in color, and glowing in the moonlight. Like some sort of ghost, was the form of Razor. Kat's bitbeast.

Disclaimer: You all know what goes here. Just look to previous chapters.

Meg: Lazy.

Kat: Yeah Akkiko, pick up the pace!


	12. Kai has a happy face?

Chapter 12

Instantly everyone in the clearing pointed their launchers at the bitbeast, while Ian, Kai and Tala aimed their guns.

"WAIT!" A voice cried, it was Kat's. Everyone turned to gape at her, well, except for Akkiko and Meg that is. Suddenly Akkiko's and Meg's eyes widened.

"Falcon! Stop!"

"NO-!" Suddenly, all three team members had a sharp pain in the back of their minds, and they all fell into enveloping darkness.

* * *

"Oooohhh . . . ."

"Tyson? Tyson! Wake up!"

"Gigantic. . . .oversized . . . . wolf . . . . Buick."

"Congratulations Kat. Your bitbeast had made my boyfriend deluded."

"He was deluded long before, and it was your bitbeast that knocked him out."

"Actually Kat, I think it was MY bitbeast that knocked out Tyson . . . Meg's knocked out Enrique."

"LIES! ALL LIES!"

"Yeah Akkiko, I saw. Yours knocked out Enrique. Meg's knocked out Tala."

"WHAT?"

"Again; LIES! ALL LIES!" Kai groaned.

'There is someone VERY loud talking, and it is REALLY pissing me off . . .' The team captain thought vaguely.

'If you want, we can kill them all and save you the trouble right now.' An icy and cool voice commented.

"YOU SURE AS HELL WILL NOT!" Kat snapped.

'I don't see why you bother with them anyway.' A calm voice declared.

"It's called 'friendship.' Stop being so possessive Falcon." Akkiko snapped. Robert groaned in his sleep. Suddenly his eyes snapped open. Scrambling to his feet he looked around, and found to great shock, everyone except for Meg, Kat and Akkiko had been knocked out, his hand flew to the place where his launcher and blade were normally kept, only to find it missing.

'Looking for something?' A smug voice asked calmly. Robert turned and jumped back in shock. Talon grinned. In his paw he toyed with Robert's launcher, as well as a lot of the others' launchers.

"Talon, you're not helping." Meg said dimly.

'I'm supposed to help?'

"OUT!" Meg ordered. Talon sighed, and while dropping the launchers and blades onto the floor, flew out the window.

"Same for you two too." Akkiko said clapping her hands. Falcon and Razor rolled their eyes, before flying out the window. Robert stared dimly at the three girls.

"What's going on?" Ian grumbled as he sat up.

"Ditto that." Enrique muttered as he yawned. Akkiko grinned. Walking over to the D-boys, she began to rap each one on the head smartly calling a name.

"Hey Ice cube!" She yelled at Brian. "Bean pole!" She knocked on Spencer's head. "Shorty!" She smacked Ian. "Wanker!" And she whacked Tala. "WAKE UP!" The entire room jumped at this.

"Who let loose the foghorn?" Johnny demanded. Akkiko rolled her eyes.

"Up and at 'em people!" Meg called clapping her hands. "Up, up, up!"

"Five more minutes. . . ." Enrique moaned. Kat rolled her eyes.

"Hey Enrique . . ." She called in a cooing sort of voice.

". . . . . . meh?"

"Wow, isn't she a super model!" Kat suddenly exclaimed.

"WHAT? WHERE?" Enrique yelped jumping up. Kat rolled her eyes. Smacking him upside the head she muttered;

"Lech."

"So, now that we're all awake and . . . well, somewhat alive, how is everyone doing?" Meg asked cheerfully. She was answered with a room full of death glares. "Or maybe I'll just shut up . . ." Akkiko sighed.

"Are you okay?" She asked the group. There was a moment of pause, before everyone nodded their heads.

"That's good. I was beginning to think that Falcon, Razor and Talon had all knocked you-"

"WHAT?"

"Uh. . . . what did I say?" She hissed at Meg and Kat. Tyson was on her in a second.

"WHAT ABOUT TALON?" He demanded of Akkiko. He grabbed the cuff of her shirt and started strangling her.

"Choking . . ." Akkiko gasped. "Can't . . . . breath . . . . dying . . . . air . . . . .need!" She squeaked. Tyson was about to demand an answer, when he suddenly found himself with a knife at his throat. He gulped and dropped Akkiko as Tala glared at Tyson, he had moved so fast, not even Meg realized that the knife next to her was gone as Tala grabbed it, and now held it to the Bladebreaker's throat.

"Never, touch her, again." He whispered, his voice deadly quiet. "Lay so much as a finger on her, and I will-!"

"Tala!" Akkiko croaked. "No worries . . . I'm sure you're ready to strangle me too." She winced rubbing a sore neck. Tyson blushed.

"Sorry . . . . I kind of . . ."

"Got carried away? It happens. Now, uh . . . Meg? You wanna explain? I need water . . ." She groaned and crawled, I literally mean, crawled, over to the sink.

"Oh stop exaggerating. You'll live, and you're perfectly capable of walking." Kat said dully, walked over, and used her foot to nudge Akkiko in the side.

"Owie . . . ."

"Ahem." Johnny said, tapping his foot, arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed, he was doing an absolutely miserable job of hiding his impatience.

"Alright, alright . . ." Meg said with a sigh. "Okay, you remember how we told you of our bitbeasts? How they were split into two halves?" The entire group nodded.

"Well . . . .since we've linked ourselves to our bitbeasts again . . . they can become visible, like a normal bitbeast. What you saw, is the 'good' side, so to speak." Meg explained.

"What do you mean, linked?" Ray inquired. Meg hesitated for a moment. Then gave in.

"Alright, here's the full story. When each of us turned 11, on our birthday we received an object of power correct? For me it was my wrist bands, for Kat her bracers, for Akkiko her gloves. And with those gifts, came a shard. Well . . . a bit to be more precise. At first, we had no idea what they were for, so we left them alone, but one day, I was wearing my wrist bands, I had a tennis game to go to and they worked just fine, I was about to leave, when . . ." She paused. "I, walked by the fireplace, where the shard was. I had encased it in a small glass box and propped it up on the mantle, and as I passed by . . . it . . . glowed." Tyson blinked. This was so close to what had happened to him.

"When I went closer, it glowed bright. So, I eventually got to the part where I opened the glass box, and reached in to grab it. And then . . . well, the minute my finger touched it . . . he was there."

"He?" Kai repeated calmly. Meg sighed.

"Talon." She replied softly. Kat shook her head.

"It was the same for me. I stumbled upon Razor by pure coincidence." She said softly.

"It wasn't coincidence Kat." Akkiko interrupted. "It was fate." And she said it so firmly and sincerely, everyone in the room, believed her.

* * *

"Hey Enrique?" Johnny asked that evening, they all had separate rooms. The Majestics got two rooms, side by side, as did the Bladebreakers, and the Demolition Boys. The girls all shared one room. 

"Mmmphzzz . . . ."

"Enrique, WAKE UP!"

"Huh? What?"

"I've been thinking-" Johnny began.

"Congratulations. Now I'm going back to sleep." Enrique mumbled sleepily and buried his face into the pillow.

"Enrique, seriously." Johnny said quietly. Enrique blinked, then sighed and rolled over to face Johnny who was sitting on his bed.

"What?" He demanded.

"It's about Kat . . ."

"What of her?" Enrique replied yawning.

"Don't you think . . . that maybe . . . well, isn't it possible she's hiding something more?"

"Huh?" Enrique was fully awake now.

"I mean, sure she's got a rich, yet uncaring family, a powerful, but rogue bitbeast. I feel like . . . there's some sort of . . . . 'shadow' to put it bluntly." Enrique sat up.

"Shadow?"

"Yeah . . . an enigma almost. Something underlying all that cheerfulness and the mask of being a stoic. Something that . . . . . erodes her." Johnny finished sullenly. Enrique paused.

"You're right. Now go to bed." He finally replied and turned his back on Johnny, pretending to sleep.

"What-? Enrique!" Enrique didn't answer. Johnny glared at the back of his teammate for a few minutes, then sighed, and blew out the candle. Flopping onto his bed, he quickly fell to sleep in seconds. Enrique however, still thought.

'It's becoming so obvious since Razor showed himself.' Enrique thought softly. 'She's feeling the loneliness. It's coming back to haunt her, all those memories . . . she said it made her want to kill herself . . . could it do it again?' The thought terrified him. 'No. I won't take that chance. I'll find a way to save her from the loneliness. Once and for all.'

* * *

The next morning found Kat staring around stupidly, only half awake. She groggily wondered why she was sleeping in the same room as Meg and Akkiko, when they usually all had separate rooms. 

Wait-

Oh. Right.

You can't really do that when you're living with 13 boys and 2 more girls. Meg was sleeping on her right in another bed, and to Kat's left, was Akkiko's sleepi- waitaminute. Kat stopped in mid yawn.

"Meg." She hissed, kicking her sleeping friend awake.

"Hands off coffee napper-!" Meg yelled as she awoke, blinked, rubbed her eyes and squinted at Kat.

"What?" Kat glanced at her.

"Where's Akkiko?"

* * *

Akkiko snuggled closer to the nearest source of warmth. 

"Ian!" A voice hissed.

"-Snorrreeeeeeee-"

"Ian you son of a bitch. WAKE UP!" The voice hissed again.

"Huh? Pi equals 3.14159-" He stopped short. Looked at the source of the voice and blinked. Then his face paled, his mind registered, eyes widened in shock.

"Ian, help!"

"How the heck did the wench get into the room?" Ian hissed back as he tumbled out of bed. Quietly though. "We locked the door!"

"Gee . . . you think THIS had anything to do with it?"

"LOCK picks? Good god . . ." Akkiko groaned.

'Why is my pillow moving? Pillows shouldn't move . . .' She thought sleepily and snuggled closer. Suddenly . . . 'WAITAMINTUE! Pillows . . . . moving . . . .wait . . . . there's a problem there. . . .something, is NOT logical. It'll come to me in a second.' Akkiko thought, her eyes furrowing. 'Wait for it . . . .wait for it . . . .' Her eyes suddenly snapped open.

"OH MY GOD!"

* * *

Brian sat outside the tree house, watching the sun rise. When he heard it. 

"OH MY GOD!" Brian snickered. Ah yes, what a beautiful day it was going to be.

* * *

"Okay, the sleep walking thing I can get. But LOCK picking!" Ian demanded holding up several strands of firm, yet thin wire. Akkiko was banging her head on the closest wall. Which happened to be a door. Tala was still clapping a hand to his ear, testing for hearing. He had been this morning's poor unfortunate victim . . . . .again. The other bladers who had woken up, like they could sleep through that scream, were assembled in the kitchen with the girls and were in awe. 

"Okay, so not only do you sleep walk . . . .but you lock pick too? Do we have to put a dead-bolt on our door or something?" Johnny demanded.

"Shut up Johnny." Enrique muttered elbowing his teammate.

"Shh!" Oliver hissed.

"Man . . . . I thought you were joking when you said she acts like a thief when she's asleep!" Max said in awe to Kat. Kat looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"Would I joke about something like that?"

"My bad."

"Jeez, glad I'm not you Tala." Rei said grinning to the D-boy's captain. Tala looked at him, still clapping his ear.

"What?"

"Hey, captain. Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing. CAN. YOU. HEAR. ME?" Ian said slowly.

"What?"

"Still deaf." Ian replied.

"Sorry Tala . . ." Akkiko muttered, still banging her head against the door.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

She lifted her head to bang it onto the door again, when the unexpected, or expected, depending on your IQ, happened. The door OPENED!

"ACK!" Akkiko went tumbling out . . . into-

TA DA!

A not so happy Kai. Kai was now on the ground, with Akkiko over him in a NOT so chaste position. Max blinked at the glaring Kai, whose eyes were gleaming homicidally. He sweatdropped.

"That's not Kai's happy face." He said quietly. Meg blinked at him as Kai proceeded to chase Akkiko.

"Kai has a happy face?" In the background were screams of;

"Help help help help help help!"

"You're going to die PAINFULLY and SLOWLY!"

"But I'm allergic to pain! Help help help help help!"

Do I really have to narrate who is saying what? Kat sighed.

"Meg, you're captain has gone homicidal on your friend." She said tiredly.

"WHAT? She's your friend too!"

"Oh, but she met you first. So you're closer to her." Kat retorted.

"Actually, no. She met you first." Meg replied calmly.

". . . . . damn you."

* * *

Enrique was fishing water from a nearby stream, sent by Kat who still seemed a little peeved at him. As soon as he filled the two buckets of clean water, he stood, and turned around, only to come nose to nose with a furry snout. 

"YEEP!" Enrique yelped as he jumped away. Razor stared at him calmly. "Oh, sorry Razor." He said calmly. This was the good one right? He seemed a little off . . . but then again, it was day now. The last time he had seen him was at night.

"Sorry, didn't mean to almost hit you." He said cheerfully and moved to walk around the wolf. Razor watched him calmly go, then, if he could, he would have smiled. When Enrique's back was turned to him, he quickly spun to face Enrique and barreled at him.

"Wha-?" Enrique turned and got tackled in the waist. "OW! That hurt, get off!" Enrique yelled. The bitbeast smirked.

'I don't think so human.' He said snarling. Then Enrique realized something with shock.

Kat's bitbeast was an image, they couldn't physically harm people.

The good ones anyway.

"Oh shit. . . ."

Disclaimer: I own beyblade and that is all.


	13. Losing

Author's notes: Hey people! Since Kat updated Okarie Nasai, I am being FORCED to work on Beyblade.

Kat: SHNOOKIE! I'm just forcing you to work on it like you forced me!

Akkiko: Eh he . . . . ON WITH THE STORY!

Kat: Oh just try and run . . . .I'll find you sinister smile

Chapter 13

The girls, and the teams, had all decided it would be a good idea if they posted sentries to keep an eye out for the less then good side of the trio's bitbeasts. Also, the two people paired up were made so that they wouldn't want to talk to each other really, and take attention off the task at hand. The pairings were simple.

Johnny and Kai

Ian and Max

Brian and Enrique

Oliver and Spencer

Tyson and Kat

Tala and Rei

Akkiko and Kenny

and finally. . . .

Robert and Meg

Oh this was going to work out wonderfully . . . the first shift, was Ian and Max.

* * *

Max and Ian both sat on the roof, a distance apart, guns set to shoot. Max sighed heavily and glanced over his shoulder at Ian.

"Sooo-"

"Shut up."

"But-"

"I said shut up!"

"But I-!"

"SHUT UP!"

Things were going well. . . .

* * *

"Got an ace?"

"Damn."

"Got an 8?"

"Damn."

"Got a 3?"

". . . .damn . . ."

"Got a 5?"

"Damn!"

"Got a 7?"

"ALRIGHT! STOP USING THE GODDAMN MIRROR BEHIND ME!" Tyson snapped angrily. Johnny burst out laughing at this and wiped tears from his eyes.

"Took you a while to figure it out."

"Shut up." Tyson snapped and threw a pillow in Johnny's face.

"Hey, no pillow fights in this vicinity please." Robert said dimly as he lounged on a couch. Johnny and Tyson shared a glance. . . .

You had to see this coming.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" And grabbing pillows, they both began whacking the hell out of Robert. Tala walked by the door, saw the mess, and shook his head. He continued walking. In the kitchen was Meg who was happily reading while munching on carrots with ranch dipping. In the room they had deemed living room (A room with a whole lot of pillows on the floor) was Kat and Oliver conversing. Rei and Kenny were in the opposite corner of the room discussing methods of improving their Beyblades, and in the bedroom next to that was Kai, he launched his blade again to land perfectly in the center of an 'X' he had marked on the floor. Tala sneered. Never could give training a rest could he? But shouts from the next room called his attention.

"Stop calling us that wench."

"Of course! When you stop calling me 'wench' ice cube!" A snarl of frustration. Tala walked over and leaned on the door frame.

"Alright, what havoc are you wreaking on my team now wench?" He asked in a snobbish way. Akkiko glared at him.

"I'm not wreaking any havoc. I'm only suggesting that Brian and Spencer talk a little more." Tala rolled his eyes.

"And why do you want them to talk more?"

"Because, wanker, it can't be healthy for them to barely talk at all!"

"I'm perfectly fine with the way I am bitch." Brian snapped. (AN: I am so reminded of Inuyasha -.-;;) Spencer rolled his eyes. Tala joined him.

"Grah, sod off ice cube."

"Whatever." Brian said airily and walked out of the room. Spencer was silent for a moment, before following. Akkiko sighed.

"Just give it up wench. You can't change who they've been for years."

"No. I'm going to keep trying, I want them to at least. . . . .SMILE once in a while for chrissakes!" Tala blinked.

"Smile? What for?" Akkiko sighed again, although a little more depressed.

"It makes them . . . .well, less . . . . . machine-ish I guess . . ." That surprised Tala.

"Machine-ish?"

"It's just that . . . well, all of you! You're so . . . mechanical, like someone is . . . controlling you from behind. I hate it . . ." Tala was silent for a moment.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you hate us being . . . mechanical?"

(AN: Fluff alert! XP)

"Because . . ." She walked up to him and hugged him, surprising the shit, needless to say, out of Tala. "I hate the idea that you can't control yourself . . . .everyone should be able to . . . ." Tala looked down at her, then sighed and hugged her back, stroking her hair and muttering;

"Silly wench . . ."

"Stupid wanker." She mumbled, her voice muffled into his chest.

(AN: We are now de-fluff-efying. Please exit the ride calmly, if you have at all had the urge to gag, puke, or anything of the sort, our attendants would be happy to deal out the sickness baggies, if you have tumbled off your chair and are now twitching on the ground, we are sorry, we can do nothing to help. Please remain still until said twitching stops, or help arrives. Whichever comes first.)

* * *

"Woo hoo hoo . . . hee hee hee." Tyson stumbled into the kitchen laughing, and brushing feathers off his shirt. Meg turned around and blinked.

"Tyson, what have you been doing?"

"Pillow fight . . . heh." He said dimly taking off his cap, shaking it, then placing it back on, backwards. "I won." He said proudly with a grin.

"Tyson . . ."

"Yea?"

"You're getting feathers all over the floor." Meg said dully. Tyson blinked.

"Oops, shall continue cleaning, outside."

"Thank you baby." Meg replied and kissed his cheek before going back to reading. Tyson shook his head, unleashing another heap of feathers before going outside.

"Whoa . . . what happened to you?" Max said leaning over the edge and laughing.

"Did you get whacked with chickens or something?" Ian asked dully as he lay on the roof, hands behind his head.

"Har, har, hardy, har." Tyson said dimly brushing off more feathers. "Nah, me and Johnny just had a pillow fight . . . . on top of Robert. I won." He said grinning.

"And how did you win?" Max said dimly, confused. The tone of Tyson's voice gave the feeling he was leaving out a tiny detail.

"I won when Robert grabbed a hard-cover book and slammed it on top of Johnny's head, and in the mass of falling feathers, I escaped."

"Ha, ha, nice." Max laughed. Tyson nodded, then looked over the railing.

"S'cuse me, I'm gonna go get cleaned up." And with that he began hopping down the stairs, taking three at a time. Landing on the bottom he brushed off a couple more feathers before walking off.

"Don't go too far!" Max called from the roof.

"No worries!" Tyson said calmly. Walking through the branches and bushes, he came to a stop in a clearing.

"Damn . . . it's cold." He shivered. When he heard a noise. A snap, like a twig breaking. Spinning around he blinked, when he saw no one.

"Hello? Maxie?"

It was comical almost, there was no reply, just, wind . . .

Then a ruffle of the bushes to his left. Tyson spun again and whipped out his launcher.

"Whose there?" He demanded, in a more serious tone. A growl was heard, before a flying blur jumped out from the bush right at Tyson.

"AHHH!" Tyson yelped in surprise as the form landed on his chest, making him fall to the ground with a smack.

"OW!" He yelped as his head slammed against the ground making him see stars. Only to realize . . .

"Stop . . . tickling . . . hey!" Tyson yelped when the wolf began nibbling on the tip of his nose. It's brothers and sisters were taking turns nibbling his clothes and jumping on him.

"Hey mister." Tyson said picking up the wolf and stopping it from munching on his nose. "I don't want anymore of that taken off. I get enough of it bitten off from Kai." He said calmly and set the pup down. It was those seven wolf pups from the clearing that other day. The pup blinked, before sniffing along the line of his jacket, before coming across a feather and sneezing, that sent three feathers spiraling into the air. Quickly two pups began to chase the falling feathers. Tyson laughed.

"C'mon pups, that isn't healthy, c'mon. Let's go back to the treehouse and we'll see if Meg can cook anything for you." He said standing slowly, letting the pups slide off him and onto the ground. "Trust me, she's a really good cook." The wolves yipped and began to follow him back. He grinned while putting his launcher back in place.

"Smart little guys aren't ya?" He asked fondly as he brushed some branches from his path and walked on. A sudden whoosh of air alongside his head made him stop however.

"What the-? OOF!" A sudden force slammed into his stomach causing him to slide back into a tree, the pups yelped and scattered.

'Don't take this personally. I'm only after Magoto. You're just her weak spot, next to her friends.' A voice said coolly in Tyson's mind. Hearing that voice, Tyson snapped into wakefulness and rolled out of the way as Talon dove in again, his claws raked the air where Tyson had just been. With a screech of anger he flew up, only to circle around again. Tyson panicked as Talon came in at a direct course for him.

'Time to die human filth!' That's when they attacked.

"No . . ." Tyson said dimly. The wolves leaped from the bushes to latch themselves onto the bird. They began to chew viciously.

'Whelps!' Talon thought furiously. 'I killed your mothers and fathers, I shall not hesitate to kill you!' And with that, he flung his wings out, sending three of the pups crashing into trees. With a howl of agony on their part, the slid to the base, necks broken. Dead.

Tyson shuddered, then rose to his feet and whipped out his launcher.

"Dragoon!" He yelled launching his blade. Instantly his bitbeast rose in a haze of blue. "Take him down!" Dragoon instantly reeled and flew at Talon, crashing into the beast, the remaining four pups jumped down and scattered into the bushes, while Dragoon battled it out with Meg's former bitbeast.

'Insolent.' Talon snarled and with a thrust, forced Dragoon down with such strength, that Tyson's bitbeast gave a howling cry and vanished. His blade stopped spinning. Tyson turned pale.

'Shit . . . the girls weren't joking, their bitbeasts are far stronger then us.' He took a step back in spite of himself. Talon gave a jeering cry.

'Now, time to die. And this time, no interruptions.' And with that, he flew at Tyson.

* * *

"Meg?"

"Hm?"

"Has Enrique come back yet?"

"No."

"This isn't like him . . . and getting water should have only taken an hour at the most, it's been 2 and a half, where is he?"

"How would I know?" Kat sighed.

"I'm getting worried . . ."

"Kat!" Meg said, suddenly terrified. Kat blinked at her.

"Okay, I'm worried, not that worried. What?"

"Y-you're bracers!" Kat suddenly stiffened and looked at her hands, her bracers were glowing.

"Oh no . . ."

"No . . ." Meg looked at her hands, her wrist bands were glowing as well.

"Meg? Something's up with Draciel, he's glowing. So is Ian's bit Wyborg."

"Oh mind your own business blondie." There was a crash and out came Akkiko, followed by Tala.

"Meg, Kat." She whispered terrified, and showed them her gloves. They were glowing as well.

"What's going on? Wolborg is tense." Tala asked calmly. There was a sudden shuffle as the other team members came out as well.

"All the bitbeasts . . . that means . . ." Meg began when Kat cut in.

"Oh god! Enrique's out there alone!" She spun around and was about to get to the door when Kai stepped in front of her.

"Kai! Get out of my way!" She yelled in near hysterics.

"No. Think about this. It's what he wants." Kai said calmly.

"What is it?" Oliver asked. Meg was silent, before speaking.

"Our bitbeasts. They're near and . . . . they're attacking someone. When they attack someone, our items will glow." She said raising her hands.

"The attack is strong if other bitbeasts can sense it as well . . ." Meg looked down at the ground, then froze as a small breeze from the window made three white feathers shift.

"Wait . . . no!" She looked at the others, and scanned them worriedly, she paled after a moment.

"Meg?" Akkiko asked her.

"Where's Tyson?" Rei suddenly asked. Meg paled.

"Oh my god . . . he . . he had, feathers! And then he-!" Robert paled, as did Johnny.

"You mean he went outside!" Johnny demanded.

"What? Feathers? What?" Kenny blinked. A gasp outside could be heard.

"Tyson! He's out there alone!"

"Oh my lord . . ." Meg breathed and she blinked back fear. "We have to find them. Both of them, Tyson and Enrique. We split up into two-"

"You girls stay here." Robert said calmly. "We can't risk you out there."

"So we leave them alone here? They come with us." Kai overrided him. Then Kai looked at Tala.

"You see the pattern. I know you do." He said calmly. Tala nodded, the tiniest of nods. Akkiko looked at Tala.

"What? What pattern?" Everyone stopped in they're movements.

"They're targeting people who have fallen in love with you three." Tala explained calmly while looking at the trio. Akkiko paled.

"Then . . . .you're-?" Tala nodded. Akkiko looked at him, at a lost for words, before grabbing his hand and enlacing fingers.

"I won't let them. They're not taking you." She said firmly. Tala looked at her, and gave her a small smile.

"It's up to you, are you coming with us?" Kai asked calmly. Tala looked at him.

"Of course."

"Okay. Myself, Meg, and my team, we will look for Tyson. Robert, Kat, and his team searches for Enrique. Ian, Tala and Akkiko can go with Robert, Brian and Spencer come with me. Move." Kai commanded easily while grabbing his launcher and setting out.

"Bossy little jerk ain't he?" Johnny hissed to Robert quietly as he grabbed his launcher and a jacket.

"Quiet." Robert said calmly. And with that, they set off, Robert's team went to the river, and Kai's team went in the direction Max said Tyson had gone.

* * *

Kai's team had been walking for about 5 minutes, before Kai called them all to a stop.

"What is it?" Max hissed. Kai's face was pale, he was shivering. Brian stepped up, he looked slightly unnerved, as did Spencer. Rei was in full faced shock.

"What?" Meg demanded. Kai looked at Rei, Brian and Spencer, as if needing to confirm something.

"Do you smell it?"

All three nodded in reply. Kai's face went blank, it seemed that whatever he had confirmed, he didn't like.

"What is it!" Kenny demanded. Kai turned forward, and undid his launcher, as did Rei, Spencer and Brian.

"I smell blood."

Disclaimer: I own plot and OC Akkiko. Meg owns herself, Kat herself, Talon, Falcon and Razor are part of my property as well. Everything else, belongs to whoever owns Beyblade.


	14. Eye of the Dragon

Author's notes: Yes, I stopped working on this for a while. . . I don't know why. But Kat updated a LOOONG time ago, and so I'm due for an update.

Chapter 14

Ian, Tala, and Akkiko all ambled down the path behind Robert and his group. Akkiko had the sole job of comforting her friend.

"He's alright, I'm sure of it!" Akkiko whispered to her. Kat nodded stiffly.

"I'd just feel better if I knew for sure. . ." She whispered and walked up towards the other group. Akkiko sighed.

"It's alright." Tala said quietly taking her hand and enlacing fingers. She looked at their hands in surprise.

"Tala?"

"We'll find them both. Then we'll set this entire matter of your bitbeast to rights." He said firmly. Akkiko blinked at him.

"You're being oddly compassionate, why the sudden change?"

"I . . ." He mumbled. "I'm trying to be less . . . what was the term? Machine-ish." Akkiko blinked at him, then broke into a large smile. She stood up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Aw gross! Get a room you two!" Ian snapped disgusted. Johnny looked back at the trailing group shaking his head.

"If you're going to do that, can it wait until after we save Enrique?" He demanded. Akkiko smiled.

"Sure." And she settled for lacing her finger's with Tala's and leaning on his shoulder. Behind them Ian mimicked gagging.

* * *

The words had an immediate affect on the group. Meg's face paled greatly, and the remaining bladers drew their launchers. The group then proceeded to walk on.

'Blood? It can't be . . . please God . . . let Tyson be alright!'

"Meg . . . you might want to get your launcher out." Max whispered to her, she was startled out of her stupor and looked at him in shock.

"We don't stand a chance against him without you." Max continued. Meg nodded shakily and drew out her launcher. With it came her blade, Kenny had made all of the girls' blades again with parts they'd found at the treehouse. After transferring a bit of the power from their current bit holders, she now had a full set. Setting it into her launcher, Meg also drew the ripcord and set it in with a satisfying click.

'How long has it been since I've launched like this?' She wondered dully as they finally stepped into a clearing.

"Good god . . ." Spencer whispered. Meg ran forward, her face deadly pale.

"No!" She cried in agony, kneeling down next to a corpse, she felt tracks of warmth fall down her cheeks. Picking up the tiny body of a wolf pup she bit her lip against the cry that welled up in her.

"No . . ." She whispered, her eyes settling on a the broken neck, and a long curved scar, a deep one. "Talon." She whispered, the irony failing to humor her. "NO!" She screamed in anger. Standing she glanced around the clearing. "Come on out you bloody coward! Get out here and fight me!" She screamed. Kai walked forward and put a hand softly on her shoulder.

"He is most likely long gone. We have to follow him." The captain said quietly, his eyes showing sympathy.

"No. We bury them first." Meg said softly and walked over to the other two who lay on the ground. She was torn, honor demanded she bury the pups, but love called her to follow Tyson. Regardless, Talon could be anywhere. There was no point in searching for someone who could be thousands of miles away. Meg kneeled next to them and set down the pup with his brethren, then she began to scoop away dirt with her bare hands. The ground had started to ice over, and the dirt was hard to break, but still she continued to dig, her hands began to go numb with the cold, her gasps were all that were heard in the silent clearing. Suddenly there was a shift of movement to her left, and Kai was suddenly on her left helping to widen the hole. No questions were asked, no comment said, no suggestion of using blades to clear the hole. Just silent aid. She could have hugged him at that moment, but the two simply continued digging. Max and Ray took a spot on her left and began digging another whole, close to the one started. Kenny quietly set his laptop down and assisted as well. Brian and Spencer looked at each other, before sighing and walking over to the right of Meg and Kai, setting down launchers, they started digging their own hole. Yet Meg noted that all of them kept their blades within grabbing distance and were set to launch, most likely in case Talon decided to come back and pick them off.

'Talon . . . you're going to pay.' Meg thought venomously. It was hard work, and by the time it was through, the only ones who didn't have cracked and bleeding hands were Kai, Spencer and Brian. Everyone else's were throbbing. Meg stood clapping dust of her hands, looking down at the three new graves, she suddenly drew her blade and launcher from her pocket and belt loop. The rip cord was still in place as she set to launch. No one asked what she was doing, they had a pretty good idea already. Meg closed her eyes, calling up the power of Talon that she had. The power stirred, like a cat she had poked awake. She prodded it with her mind again and it stirred again, finally it rose, and pale blue light enveloped her form. She opened her eyes, her mind suddenly clear.

"Let it rip!" She cried, the words rolling off of her tongue easily. Snapping the ripcord back with her hand, her blade flew forward in a near perfect launch. The blade landed on the ground and suddenly jumped at the tree over the three graves.

"Talon! Ice storm!" And suddenly, as if 3 years hadn't passed at all, the phoenix rose and flared its wings. With a great keen, ice daggers rose from the wind and flew in a circle around the tree. Chips of wood and dust flew from the tree and the others held a hand up to brace themselves against the flying debris. When the dust began to settle, Meg called her blade back to her hand and stood to observe her work.

_May these three find peace with their parents, all who fought bravely against a fight that was not theirs._

Meg sighed and turned around and began to walk off. Max looked at her sadly, and took a step up to her, gently embracing her in a hug, Meg stiffened, before burying her face in his shoulder and letting loose a silent stream of tears.

* * *

"Well, there's nothing here. What do we do?" Johnny asked dully as he looked around. The group had arrived at the ravine and we're looking around boredly.

"There's always the option of splitting up." Oliver suggested.

"And have the bitbeasts pick us off one by one?" Tala snapped. Oliver flushed in embarrassment.

"Hey, don't you take that tone with him." Johnny warned.

"Whatever. I just don't want to meet my maker that soon."

"You know what? You have an overly healthy dose of paranoia."

"I'm just being cautious."

"Does cautious include sour temper, tendencies to betray people, and violence?"

"Look, why don't you just-!"

"Both of you shut up!" Robert and Kat snapped at once.

"This isn't the time to fight!" Kat said angrily.

"We still have to find Enrique, can we please focus?" Robert demanded.

"Fine." Both Tala and Johnny growled. Akkiko sighed and squeezed Tala's hand for comfort. He squeezed back and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He didn't bother looking back, but instead sighed.

"You go on ahead for a moment. We'll be right with you in a minute." He suddenly said to Ian jerking to a stop, Akkiko found herself yanked back due to the sudden stop, Ian nearly crashed into his back.

"But-!"

"Go." Tala said calmly. Ian blinked, before making a disgusted face after taking a guess at what they would be doing.

"Going!" He said and ran after the group, before he began urging them to move faster before he lost his lunch. Once they were out of sight due to turning a corner in the path, Tala turned to Akkiko and studied her face intently.

"What?" She asked a bit surprise. He locked eyes with her and gazed at her intently, before sighing. Suddenly, the hand that held hers pulled her forward and she fell into a hug as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Tal-?" She squeaked a blush painting her cheeks.

"I'm not going to leave you, stop looking like all the hope in this damned world is lost." Tala said fiercely. "You're mine. Understand? Mine. I've claimed as such and when something becomes mine, I protect it at all costs. Especially one as important as you." He said gruffly pulling her back to look her in the eye. Akkiko flushed.

"Oh, so I'm yours? When was this announced?"

"The minute I accepted you to my team, you became something that needed to be protected, and I will protect you." He said softly and kissed her forehead. Akkiko turned a darker red.

"Stop that. I can't think when you kiss me." She stuttered out.

"Too bad." He growled. Akkiko rolled her eyes, that was Tala being romantic for you. He hugged her close again and she let him, they stood like that for a few minutes, before she whispered to him;

"I'm not worried about you protecting me." She whispered.

"Then what are you worried about?" He demanded.

"I know you'll protect me." She continued, ignoring what he had said. "What I'm worried about . . . is who will protect you?"

* * *

Two hours later, Meg and the Bladebreakers plus one Brian and plus one Spencer were still searching with no luck, and the sun was beginning to set. Give it another hour, take or give a few minutes and they'd be plunged into darkness. Not a good thing.

"We have to head back, it's getting too dark to keep searching." Spencer said, a quiet voice of reason.

"No! We have to keep looking! We have to find him!" Meg said desperately. She walked on through the bushes and Kai stopped, looking at her, he said softly;

"There is no point. In the night here in Siberia, the clouds tend to cover the moon, we will have little light to walk by, and we won't be able to see even, out here for the night, your bitbeasts could picks us off one by one, and we could never know."

"But-!"

"We have to go back." Kai interrupted. Meg's fatigue was suddenly pushed down, desperation, frustration and worry suddenly pushed her anger to the surface, and it erupted like a volcano.

"What! How can we go back knowing that every second we waste could mean Tyson's life!" She bellowed. "Tyson could be on the verge of dying, and we're just standing around, saying we should give up! Do you even care about him! Well Kai? Or do you not care for him at all as a friend and are willing to abandon him so long as it isn't your hide!" She screamed till her voice became hoarse, her eyes becoming bright with emotions. "If you all want to go back to the tree-house and hide, then FINE! Go and hide! I'll look for him myself!" She snapped and started to walk again. Kai suddenly lashed out with his hand and grabbed her wrist. He glared at her angrily.

"Now listen to me Meg. I'm holding back because I know you're tired, and you have a lot of things and emotions running through your head. Listen to me. We don't know where Tyson is, and staying out all night in the cold, getting pneumonia and crap is not going to help him at all. Most of all, how can you even accuse me of not caring about Tyson's safety?" He demanded, eyes glinting furiously. "Tyson is my teammate, add to that, he is one of the very few people who can accept me the way I am, and can see me for what I really am. I would never betray his trust again. Lastly, what can you accomplish alone? Except for getting lost, getting attacked, and getting killed? You're angry, tired, and hungry. Do not let your emotions get the best of you." He ordered. Then he turned to look at the others. "We're heading back now." He ordered. They all nodded and turned to leave. Meg growled and attempted to pull her arm from Kai's iron tight grip, to no avail I might add. When the others were out of sight, he turned back to her.

"Listen to me, Tyson is as close to a best friend as I can have. I am not going to abandon him. I can't, and I sure as hell won't. Trust me, we will find him, and make sure this gets seen through to the end." Kai said sincerely, his eyes flashing with determination. Meg stared at him in awe for a moment, before looking down and nodding, her face flooding with tears.

"I just can't lose him Kai . . . it would bring back too much pain . . . and I don't know if I will be able to escape that hell hole again." She murmured. Kai sighed and gruffly hugged her before petting her awkwardly.

"This is Tyson, you may have lost your mother, but that is in the past. Move on, and know this, Tyson won't die without saying goodbye, he's not that kind of guy." He said dimly. Meg nodded into his chest and continued to cry for a while.

* * *

"Any luck?" Kat asked as the rest of the group filed in. All the faces were pale, pinched and tired. Each had a look of despair and frustration.

"No." Ray said softly. Kat's face filled with sorrow. Akkiko looked at her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry . . . we'll find them. They're okay, I'm sure of it." She said comfortingly.

"Right . . . thanks Akkiko." Kat whispered, her eyes still filled with despair. "I think I'm going to wash up and go to bed." She mumbled and stood, her gaze not meeting anyone else's as she walked out of the room. Akkiko stared after he forlorn. Then she turned to the Bladebreakers.

"Where's Kai and Meg?" She asked after a few minutes of observation.

"Outside, Kai's talking to her." Max replied tiredly as he sank into the couch.

"Oh, okay."

"We should sleep for now, there's not much more we can do I'm afraid . . ." Kenny suggested as he closed his laptop. "We're all tired, and lack of energy won't do anything for our friends. The best we can do is try to get some rest and start early tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a good idea chief." Meg said softly as she walked in, if anyone in the room noticed her bloodshot eyes, they didn't say a word of it. Kai walked in after her, his arms decidedly crossed over his chest, hiding most of the tears tracks on his shirt, but the others could see a bit. The captain in question glared at each one of them, daring to make a comment, when none did, he relaxed a bit and walked out of the room heading for the boy baths. Meg sniffed a bit and smiled slightly.

"I'm gonna clean up and hit the sack okay?" She asked Akkiko who nodded in reply.

"Sure."

"Heck, why don't we all just take a bath right now? God knows those things are huge enough." Ian said disgruntled.

"Good idea." Ray got out through a yawn.

"We meet back here, discuss a 5 minute plan, then head to sleep alright?" Robert suggested.

"Okay." Everyone agreed and got to their feet.

* * *

"Alright, the plan is this, tomorrow morning we wake up at dawn and separate again into the same groups." Ray explained.

"Again we're going to go back to the river, and to the spot where Meg and her group found the wolves." Robert put in.

"Search for anything that might signal where Tyson and Enrique might have gone, for all we know they could have gotten injured and are hiding, waiting for someone to find them. We search until noon, make sure you take breaks in between, the last thing we need is for someone to faint." Meg said clearly.

"Also, we must protect Tala." Kat finally put in. All eyes turned to her, including the red-head captain. She flushed.

"Tala is next on the list, I'm surprise they haven't attacked him already." Kat muttered. Robert waited a minute . . . before finally nodding.

"That's true, Tala will most likely get abducted, and I rule out the idea of putting him as bait, it's not a sound plan. Any questions?" Silence, everyone was too weary to even think straight. Kai nodded.

"Then get to bed." He said quietly. As everyone stood, Akkiko was about to as well, she had been sitting next to Tala on the large couch. She actually got to her feet before Tala grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down on the sofa.

"ACK! What the-!"

"Shh." Tala said tiredly. Lying down flat, he pulled her on top of him in a surprisingly comfortable position. The others in the room all looked at the two in surprise. Tala already had his eyes closed at this point, but his brow furrowed.

"What?" He snapped. They all shared looks, before smiling a little and continued walking out.

"Uhm . . . Tala? Why are we sleeping here?"

"Because we both know eventually you'll end up in my bed somehow, and besides, I thought you'd like this. I'm not being machine-ish." Akkiko smothered a laugh.

"You're not going to let that go are you?"

"Not until you stop being a clutzy, idiotic, yet lovable brat." He growled as he wrapped his arm around her waist, the other finding a blanket and pulling it over the two of them. Akkiko looked at him again, before smiling.

"Okay, okay . . ." She muttered resting her head just beneath his chin and burrowing her face into his chest.

"Night Tala." She whispered, his response was a small squeeze of the arm around her waist. She smiled.

* * *

"_Aren't you ready to die yet Kimiko?"_

"_Go away Falcon!" Akkiko screamed._

"_Well then, I suppose I will have to just steal that boy from you . . ." Falcon laughed horribly._

"_Don't you go near him!" She screamed in defiance. Falcon stopped laughing and glared at her, his eyes suddenly vivid._

"_And what makes you think you can stop me?" He asked, his form suddenly in front of her face. She yelped and stumbled back._

"_You'll have to kill me first!" She snapped, her hand going for her launcher, but for some reason . . . her hand wouldn't move._

"_I don't intend to kill you, I intend to seal you." Falcon growled and began to breath a slow, black, poisonous fog. Akkiko's face paled and she backed away from the smog._

"_Falcon . . ." She growled warningly. Falcon laughed again._

"_The boy is mine, and if you want to find him, come to the _uujou1_ of this island. You'll know where it is _fukushin2_." He jeered, the last word filled with sarcasm. He said laughing, and suddenly Akkiko was shocked into consciousness from the deathly nightmare._

_

* * *

_

A piercing screech filled the area as a pale white fog flew into the large room and materialized. By the time Tala realized what it was and had gotten his hand on his launcher, it was too late. Falcon's tail whipped out, winding itself around Tala's exposed wrist, it dragged him before his face, Tala valiantly lashed out with his foot, only to have himself flung into a wall. Akkiko meanwhile struggled with the sleep that refused to let her go.

'Don't fight the dream Kimiko.' Falcon said looking at her form smugly.

"Bastard . . . what have you done to her!" Tala snapped staggering to his feet, still winded from the blow. Falcon turned to look at him.

'A sleep binder, she won't be waking up soon.' He said laughing.

"Somebody . . . . help. . ." Akkiko groaned as she tossed and turned, trying to wake up. Tala scowled, he had to protect her, his launcher had been flung next to the door, it was roughly 3 feet away for both of them, Tala glanced at it, then back at Falcon, the bitbeast laughed.

'Go ahead! Try it! Try and go for your launcher!' He jeered. Akkiko gritted her teeth.

"Somebody . . . ." She moaned. Tala scowled, then in an instant went for his launcher. Falcon didn't even let him get two steps before his tail lashed out and secured itself around Tala's waist. Squeezing with his tail, Falcon brought Tala in front of him smiling sadistically.

'Too bad boy, you, and those other two boys are all going to be the downfall of your lovers.' Tala didn't respond, his lungs were being crushed by the force of Falcon's tail, he suddenly coughed and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth and painted his lips.

'Don't die human, I still need you.' Falcon laughed. Akkiko, still trapped in the dream, called a last resort. Opening herself to the power of her bitbeast, she finally managed to open her eyes and screamed;

"SOMEBODY HELP!"

Now, as it had been said repeatedly throughout this entire story, Akkiko had one good quality that even the D-boys had noted on their first meeting. Her good lungs. There was a sudden slam as a door hit the wall and Falcon suddenly found himself staring into the deathly cold eyes of Kai.

"Drop him. Now." Kai hissed in a steely cold tone. Falcon chuckled.

'Why would I human?'

"Because if you don't I will kill you here and now." Another cold voice snapped. Falcon glanced from the corner of his eye to find Ian, behind him were Spencer and Brian. Akkiko shook the last of the sleep binder spell from her mind and fumbled for her launcher, launching herself to her feet, she aimed her launcher at him, eyes cold.

"Put him down Falcon." She whispered.

"If you value your life at all." Johnny snapped as he appeared behind Kai, Robert and Oliver behind. Meg and Kat appeared behind Spencer, Ian and Brian, glaring at Falcon.

'The whole party, I'm touched. But I fear I've worn out my welcome.' Falcon said as he began turning into a white mist, his tail still clutching Tala who by this time had been knocked out from lack of oxygen before Falcon had loosened his grip, allowing the boy to breath. Akkiko's eyes widened, she started forward.

"FAL-!" She couldn't even finished the word before the bitbeast disappeared in a white haze and vanished in the air, taking Tala with him. Akkiko fell to her knees, looking lost.

"No . . . ." She whispered hoarsely, then her voice became laced with fury, loss, despair, but most of all, hate.

"FALCOOOOOOON!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, just OC bitbeasts, Akkiko, any OC characters except for Meg and Kat.

1 Uujou Heaven/Sanctuary (Japanese)

2 Fukushin True Friend (Japanese)

Author's notes: Just to let you all know, my archives just got majorly messed up, somehow a lot of files got deleted and I need to go sort through my backups and stuff . . . so yeah, it might be a while till the next chapter. (sigh)


	15. Setting out again

Chapter 15

"Son of a bitch . . ." Akkiko hissed dropping to a knee, hand over her heart, her face abnormally pale, glinted with sweat as she breathed harshly.

"Akkiko?" Kat and Meg were suddenly by her side, looking her over worriedly. "What's wrong?" Meg asked, her voice laced with concern.

"I opened myself to him." She whispered. Kat paled.

"Oh goddess, are you alright? How bad did it attack you?"

"Say what?" Johnny demanded. "What the hell is going on here?" He snapped. Akkiko took a large breath of air, and shakily got to her feet while leaning on Meg and Kat.

"With out bitbeasts, we try to keep our contact with the bad half, as little as possible for two reasons. One, it will let them know where we are, which seems to be no problem since we've reawakened the good half of our bitbeasts. Two, when we come into contact with them, we open our souls, our very hearts and minds to them. Thus, since they're more used to traveling the spiritual plain, they have the ability to attack us. Basic summary, we open ourselves to them, they can attack us, and take years off our life span. Leave ourselves open too long, and they could kill us." Akkiko hissed.

"Hush." Kat ordered. "Bitbeasts are not all just fun and games. There are hidden dangers as well, that's why if you want to have a bitbeast, you must have utter control over it, cause if you don't, it could cost you your life." Max paled.

"So . . . if Draciel turned evil and decided he wanted to kill me all of a sudden . . ."

"The most likely he could since you currently have an open link to him. However, there is one drawback that every bitbeast hates. Attack your owner, you lose your hold in this world and get sent spiraling into the spiritual one. The amount of life you steal from your owner is the amount of life you steal from your anchor. It's sort of fair." Meg grumbled sourly as she and Kat helped Akkiko to sit on the couch. Akkiko scowled.

"Stop that, I'm not going to drop dead at any second. Let me go, we have to go after Falcon!" She yelled. Meg and Kat looked at each other, as if they had been expecting this.

"We can't." The order hadn't come from Meg or Kat, but rather, Kai. Akkiko narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you saying? That we should abandon them?" She hissed. Kai sighed and walked up to her.

"Listen to me, you're tired, you've been injured, and to add to that, it is the middle of the night. The chances of us finding them are slim to none. If that isn't enough to satisfy you, where would we look? It's SIBERIA here girl, after night the temperature drops like a stone through air. Go outside if you want to, we'll find your frozen corpse in the morning." Akkiko glared at him hatefully.

"Kai . . ." Meg began.

"No." Kai cut in. "She has to understand. This is exactly what they want, you go out there and they've won." Akkiko got to her feet shakily while glaring at him.

"I. Don't. Care!" She hissed through gritted teeth. Kai glared at her.

"Well I do." And with a quick flash of his hand, he brushed her neck while pinching some nerves. She was out before she hit the ground. Fortunately Meg and Kat caught her in time, setting her gently down onto the couch they sighed heavily.

"HEY!" A voice yelled, instantly Ian was by Akkiko's side, looking very pissed at Kai as he positioned himself between the two. "What the hell did you do to her!" He demanded. Kai glanced at Ian surprised, before shaking his head.

"I just knocked her out. She'll be fine in the morning when she wakes up."

"Oh. Well next time at least catch her! Where would you be if the two wenches hadn't caught her?" Ian grumbled then turned around and started settling her comfortably on the couch while pulling a blanket over her, all the while muttering. Kai looked genuinely surprised.

"Ian . . . are you being protective of her?"

"NO! I mean YES! I mean no! I mean- aw crap." He grumbled. "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" He snapped and went back to making sure Akkiko was covered up before dashing out of there muttering under his breath and blushing a bright pink. Kai glanced after him, then chuckled.

"Well, lets get to bed. We'll start out in the morning." He was halfway to the door when he suddenly stopped. "Sentries, I want s-"

"We're already ahead of you Kai. You're getting slow." A bored voice came wafting through the roof. Spencer's. And a quick surveillance of the room showed Brian had vanished as well. Kai sighed.

"Switch off at 0300 hours." Kai said boredly as he walked out of the room.

"Right." Meg and Kat shared a tired glance. Looking back at Akkiko, they both patted her shoulder, before leaving the room.

* * *

"0300 hours my ass." Spencer said in the morning, it wasn't filled with anger or hate, but rather, a comment, sort of like, 'good morning' or 'hello'.

"Hey I was tired, give me a break." Johnny snapped.

"Johnny . . ." Oliver began. ". . . why do you have a black eye?" Kai snorted.

"This would be a present from Kai when he tried to wake me up for our shift." Johnny grumbled.

"Well what do you expect?" Robert demanded. "You threw a paper cup at him when he tried to get you up." He said dully. "And while you were at it, you woke both Oliver and me up as well. That's very impolite of you." Johnny glared and flipped a finger at Robert.

"See this? It says f--- you!" (AN: This is from a web-comic I have read . . .) Ian glared at them.

"Are we going or not!"

"_Uujou_." A voice suddenly said. Ian yelped as he spun around to face a pale looking Akkiko.

"Say what?" She glanced at him.

"Uujou. That is where we will find them. Falcon said go to the Uujou of this island to find them."

"What the hell is Uujou?" Johnny demanded.

"The Japanese word for heaven, or sanctuary." Both Spencer and Akkiko said at once.

"So then where is a heaven or sanctuary on this island?" Max pondered. Kai thought for a moment.

"Could your Bitbeasts sense them?" He suddenly asked. All three girls shared a look at once.

"Not unless we opened ourselves up to the other half." Meg finally said.

"HELL NO!" Ian, Ray, Brian and Johnny yelled at once, just as Robert, Kai and Spencer all said;

"Forget it." At once.

"I'm just going to take that as a no." Kat grumbled as she winced.

"Maybe they left another clue outside?" Kenny asked. "It seems like they really want us to find them if they left us a clue."

"The Chief has a point." Max said dully.

"No clues outside." Kai commented. "I've already searched." There was silence for a moment.

"Well we already know it's pointless to just walk around." Ray grumbled. "There's got to be SOMETHING we're missing here."

'Should we?' Akkiko asked through their mental link, she was glancing at Meg and Kat.

'I dunno. Is it worth the risk?'

'. . . it's the only option.' Kat finally put in. Both glanced at her, then nodded.

"Guys." Meg called. They all turned to look at her. "We . . . Akkiko, Kat and I . . . there's . . . well, another way we can-"

'Let me have a shot at an idea I have.' Max and Kenny yelped and spun around to find Razor, the good version.

"What idea is that?"

'Come.' He called and walked outside. The others followed with confused looks. Razor leapt to the forest floor and let out a howl. One long, resonating and incredibly pure sound. Instantly there was rustling in the bushes below, and instantly all the bladers went for their launchers, with the exception of Meg, Kat and Akkiko. Suddenly 4 forms crawled out of the bushes and Meg gasped in shock. Running down the stairs she ran up to the four wolf pups and bent down to cradle them, relief shining in her face.

". . . some of you did live . . ." She whispered and held them close as they licked her face and struggled to get out. Ray smiled weakly.

"One small blessing." Meg nodded wearily as she set them down again. Razor leapt down to the forest floor and walked over to the pups. Immediately they began to bark in a series of yelps and growls. The odd thing was, Razor communicated back in the same manner. After 3 minutes of . . . uh . . . 'chatting', Razor looked at the others.

'They say they were able to follow the large bird that took the boy with feathers to a certain point before they lost them both.'

"Tyson . . ." Meg whispered. Razor nodded.

'It has been a day, so the trail might be old, but it is the best option.'

"Agreed." Kai commented.

Leaves crunched under their feet as the group plodded forward, Razor and the pups leading the way. All of them had their launchers prepared to fire, just in case there were any unwanted surprises waiting for them.

'Uujou . . . that name is familiar.' Kat thought on their link to the other two. Akkiko and Meg nodded in response.

'I agree, it sounds vaguely like something we should know . . .' Meg thought softly.

'Maybe we heard about it from a TV show?' Akkiko suggested mildly.

'Hardly.'

'Remember our childhood? It was pretty much, what is this word; TV?' Meg thought sarcastically.

'Ah hahaha, I'd love to see you come up with a suggestion.' Akkiko grumbled irritated, unfortunately, being so absorbed into their conversation, she tripped on a tree root and fell face first into the forest floor.

"OOF!" She got out as she smacked the ground. The group paused to glance back and sighed.

"How about, pay attention to the road as my suggestion?" Meg asked grinning.

"QUIET!" Akkiko snapped back as Kat slapped her forehead. Kai rolled his eyes, the present D-boys joined him.

* * *

"Ungh . . ." A voice sounded wearily. Opening bleary eyes, the form blinked in hazy recognition, before his memory flooded back and he attempted to sit upright in panic. The moment he raised his head, his vision suddenly distorted heavily and his head began pounding with pain. With a groan he held his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes with agony. He lay back down, clenching his teeth against the raw pain that tore its way through his mind. When it settled a bit, he sat upright more slowly this time, and dropping his hand slightly, he glanced around at his surroundings. With a wince, he noted his mouth tasted like shit, and as he glanced at the hand that fell away from his forehead, he noted the blood flakes on the tips of the fingers. Wiping his hands on the snow that surrounded him, he took in his environment. It was a circular platform, about 7 meters in diameter, and it was covered solely in snow. There was a patch of cleared area upon which he lay, that looked like it had been cleared just for him. Reaching out, the youth grabbed a fist full of snow and shoved it into his mouth, as it melted into water, he moved it about his mouth for a second, before he spat it onto the white ground. Coppery brown liquid exited his mouth and he grimaced, that was why his mouth had tasted so horrible, it had been filled with remnants of blood, blood that had come rising from his throat during the struggle . . .

Flashback -

Enrique's mind immediately calculated any possible sort of escape. Razor, the evil version, bore down on him with a vicious smile. Enrique, pinned onto his back, reached out with his hand, groping for something, when his hand connected with something round, thick and hard. Immediately he seized it and swung the branch up, it connected with Razor's side, and the wolf bitbeast yelped and was flung off for a brief second, Enrique seized his chance and scrambled to his feet and took off running. It was a futile hope that he could outrun the wolf, but he had no other choice. Filling his air deprived lungs with oxygen he yelled as loud as he could. Only now did he regret not being Johnny, the guy had the loudest mouth he had ever known, save for Tyson. He took another deep breath and yelled again for all he was worth, his throat became raw and started to ache, he had never been an athletic type, he lacked stamina. His throat had been torn raw from his yelling and his labored breath, as a result, he tasted the coppery fluid of blood on his tongue. Suddenly he was hit from behind in the back, with a startled yell, he was flung forward onto his stomach, his head smacking the frozen forest floor. Dazed, exhausted and in pain, he attempted to get to his feet as fast as he could, but only got to his knees, before another blast of wind knocked him flying, this time from his side. He slammed into a tree by his back and cried out in pain, before sliding to the base and coughed, this time blood spattered the ground.

'_I would have made it painless for you, but then you angered me, and for that you will pay.' _A voice whispered coolly on the wind. Enrique couldn't reply, his vision was already blurring as he started to fall unconscious, and his last thought, was one of helplessness, worry, and fear that he would never see her again.

'Kat . . . '

End -

Looking at his current situation, he'd have to say there was a fairly good chance he would never see her again. The Italian glanced around feverishly, his right arm was sending him into spasms of agony, and it was a good bet to say that he'd most likely broken it. He hadn't noticed anything else, until a groan sounded to his left, he immediately whipped his head around in shock and immediately regretted it as his head went into another round of pounding headaches.

". . . . Enrique?" A voice muttered feebly. When his vision had started clearing, Enrique looked down and winced slightly.

"Damn . . . that you Tyson?"

"Mff . . . yeah." The blunette responded softly as he attempted to sit up a bit, immediately his face went as white as a sheet and he clutched his leg with wince and a gasp of pain. Enrique immediately saw the problem.

"Broken?" He asked shuffling over a bit.

"Damn well feels like it." He growled sourly. "But I think I only bruised it. Badly."

"Can you walk on it?" Enrique asked glancing it over, by all outward appearances, it looked fine. Tyson took a deep breath, braced himself on his hands and his good foot, and applied weight to his bad leg, before yelling out and falling back down, breathing harshly and biting his lower lip so hard it started bleeding.

"I'm going to take that as a no." Enrique said softly. "Well this is a wonderful state we're in." He growled as Tyson calmed himself down. Looking around, the Bladebreaker suddenly swore.

"Fuck, they got Tala too." Enrique yelped in surprise and blinked as he suddenly spotted the bright red hair.

"They got Tala!"

"Didn't I just say that?" Tyson asked irritated. Looking the redhead over he smiled slightly. "Looks like he's okay, let's see if we can wake him up."

"Uhn uh, no way man. I ain't risking my skin on waking up that crazed maniac." Enrique protested.

"Would you rather take your chances with the psychotic bitbeasts?"

". . . since when did you become the unexpected voice of reason?"

"Since it started meaning our lives dummy." Tyson retorted.

"Well then you wake him up!" Enrique snapped.

"No way in hell, you wake him up! I can barely move right now!"

"Yeah right! If I wake him up, the best thing he would do would be break my OTHER arm!"

"I can't move!"

"I value my life!"

"I've got no mobility!"

"You never had any in the first place!"

"You wake him up dammit!"

"Hell no! If you haven't noticed there's not a lot of running space up here!"

"Well he'd kill me anyway cause I can't run at all!"

"He hates me and he'd kill me just for the chance!"

"Better you than me!"

"HEY!"

"I'm about to kill you both if you two don't shut up." A harsh voice suddenly intervened. Tyson and Enrique yelped in shock and whirled their heads to stare at Tala who had his eyes open, but was still lying flat on his back, and it could have just been Enrique, but he swore he saw sweat beads on the Russian's forehead.

"Good timing dude." The Italian said cheerfully. "Listen, since both me and Tyson lack moving abilities, I suggest you climb down the side of this mountain cliff thingy, whatever, and find your way back, because both the little man and me here are injured, and we have no idea where to go anyway."

"I can't." Tala replied simply, his voice sounding strained. Tyson blinked.

"Why not!"

"Because I can't move."

"Huh!" Enrique demanded. "Are you just being lazy?" Tala glared at him.

"No asswipe, I'm playing dead. I'm hurt you fuckwit!" The Russian snapped angrily, normally he would have never used such crude swears, he considered them beneath him, but pain had made him short tempered and sharp tongued. About to yell another swear at the Italian, Tala suddenly winced and closed his eyes muttering some sort of chant in Russian, trying to calm himself down.

"Hurt? Where?" Tyson asked looking the redhead over again. Tala took a deep breath, then grunted and gritted his teeth while getting out;

"Ribs. I think three of them at least are cracked from the pain points." He muttered, then attempted to move his arm and hissed angrily before dropping his arm back down. "My bad, four." Enrique sighed.

"Well that's just great."

"How's your arm?" Tyson asked. Enrique shook his head.

"I have no athletic skills, I admit this here and now and if we live and you repeat it to anyone else I'll kill you in your sleep and I know where you live, if you move I've got plenty of money to track you down." The blonde warned and Tala struggled not to snort, or else he'd send himself into another wave of pain. "I'd need three arms just to get down safely and I have only one."

"Well I can't move . . . I'd fall before I even got down there." Tyson muttered. "Tala's out, he can't even move without dying." Tala growled from the back of his throat, but as much as he hated to admit it, Tyson was right. He was in no condition to move.

"Well shit. Now what?" Enrique grumbled.

'_How about you all stay quiet?' _A voice suggested coolly, both Enrique and Tyson whirled around to face the speaker, but Tala, being smart slowly moved his eyes in that direction. Tyson suddenly yelled as his suddenly jolted leg spasmed into a burning pain and Enrique clutched his head gasping as his head suddenly throbbed painfully. Tala swore mentally, bad enough they were injured and stranded god knows where, but if his entire team couldn't kill one of these things, how were three bladers, all injured and no experience as a team supposed to kill three of these bitbeasts?

'_Can we kill them yet? They're annoying.'_

'_Try thinking with your brain for once Talon, lest you end up like the mindless beings these fools control.'_ Falcon said calmly, all three bitbeasts sat on the edges of the circular platform, and the dragon had his claw cuddled around something, when Tyson saw what it was, he swore.

"Give me back Dragoon!"

'_You are in no position to make demands little human.'_ Talon said calmly to the Bladebreaker. Walking over, Tyson could have sword the eagle leered at him with a triumphant smirk. _'The only position you are in at this point, is to do what we say.'_

"And why would we do that?" Enrique demanded, as the throbbing of his head started to subside.

'_If you don't, we capture your teammates and put them through double the pain you are experiencing right now.'_ Razor said calmly, his plumed tail whipping back and forth. Tala swore mentally, these things were good. They knew that regardless of what pain the bitbeasts inflicted on them, they wouldn't care, but to be responsible for their comrades' pain . . . that was a different story. All three of them were completely helpless to the 3 bitbeasts at this point. And both Tyson and Enrique knew it too. They sighed, defeated. It was Enrique who decided to comment on their situation as politely and effectively as possible.

"We're fucked."

Disclaimer: I do not own, only OCs except for Meg and Kat, everyone else belongs to whomever or whatever created them.

Author's notes: Sorry this took so long, but as previously noted my archives got severely screwed up so it took me a long time to get them back in order before I even _started_ typing again. ; ;


	16. Lost File Katherine

**Lost file**

The Loneliness

_As a child I was ignored entirely by the people I called my family. 'What is family?' I had pondered, and for years, I lacked an answer. It was upon my 11 birthday that I took my first step towards the true answer. I met Kimiko and Magoto. Akkiko and Meg, if it had been anyone else I'm positive I would be long gone by now, withdrawn into the unholy thing I've called the loneliness. The loneliness, if I had to describe it, it would not be colored black and thick, unending and full of darkness. No. It would be described as white, nothing but pure white, perhaps a room. That's a good description, it would be a white square room, completely bare, like a box. Nothing but white and emptiness. A white hell. Akkiko and Meg have often had the joke of describing themselves as demons, playful beings who lacked sanity, and I have been with them long enough to agree on the lack of sanity. They were ones who chose to describe themselves as being delved in a good type of darkness, thus, I have always liked describing their color as black, and perhaps that is why I choose the color white for my enemy. White for the loneliness, and black for my friends, and I've found, that the darkness isn't completely as horrible as others describe it to be._

* * *

As a child of 9, I sat in a swing at my school yard. The bell ending recess had sounded a long time ago, and as such all the children had gone in, leaving me in an empty playground.

'Empty. Just like me.' I mused dully, my eyes stared at the ground as one shoe slowly made circular marks in the sand. 'Empty . . . like a hollow shell.'

" . . . rine! Katherine!" A voice yelled and I boredly looked up to find my teacher. Hands placed on her hips the teacher glanced down at me, brown hair clipped up into a neat bun, she was stern looking and as usual, had her eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "What are you doing out here girl? The bell rang 10 minutes ago!" I ignored her obvious hostile tone and simply stood.

". . . sorry." I said halfheartedly, I even tried to sound like I was sorry, but it was obvious through my tone that I wasn't. The teacher sighed.

"Come along, back to class now." She ordered and placing a firm hand on my shoulder, she marched me back to class.

* * *

_My teacher, I can't even remember her name now, it wasn't important, but perhaps she was the person who truly altered my life forever. Perhaps it was her who planted the first stone on a path that would lead to the true answer of what a family was. In fact, I doubt that if I hadn't been given that first stone by her, I most likely would have never chosen that path._

* * *

Class was out for the day, the bell had rung only five minutes ago and I was slowly packing up my things. With nothing to go home to, I wasn't exactly in any immediate rush, so inevitably I took my sweet time, checking and rechecking the clasps on my non cartoon covered backpack, unlike the rest of my class. In all honesty, I was procrastinating my return to my house and with it, the loneliness. It was getting near to the point where I had finished all of my usual routine, and even I had to face facts, rechecking your desk and bag for the tenth time was simply absurd. With one last forlorn glance around me, I was about to leave through the outside door when the door to the hallway slammed open with a loud bang causing both myself and my teacher who had been cleaning the chalkboard to jump and spin around.

"Alicia!" The newcomer cried, her hair was a light brown and shoulder length in wispy curls, her eyes were properly accented with makeup and her bright lipstick stuck out like a sore thumb, dressed in a knee length skirt and a blouse of sorts, she squealed gleefully and launched herself across the room while happily hugging my teacher, who it seemed, had gone into absolutely shock.

"N-Natalie?" My teacher stuttered. Then she shrieked glee. "NATALIE!" Hugging her in a wild sort of frenzy, I was rooted to my spot, watching the two of them.

"A-Alicia! Goddamnit woman where did you go!" A male voice suddenly gasped, and a man dressed in a ruffled looking, but neat suit suddenly appeared in the doorway, leaning against the door-frame he was panting and swiping at his sweaty brow with the back of his sleeve.

"Oh my gosh!" My teacher, Alicia cried. Untangling herself from Natalie's arms she ran across the room and hugged him wildly with a violent gaiety as she cried; "Daniel!"

"Can't breath!" By this time I watched the scene unfold, my backpack long forgotten on the classroom floor.

"Oh my gosh!" Alicia yelled again, her eyes gleaming brightly with some sort of hidden emotion. "What are you two doing here!" Daniel slowly let her down to the floor and smiled brightly, it was a bright smile, one that made you feel like everything would be alright.

"Doctor's seminar for me." He explained calmly. "They want me to do some speeches, though for the love of me I can't see why, I'm hopeless as a public speaker!"

"Don't we all know." Natalie commented as she walked over, poking Daniel in the ribs gently with her elbow and a sly wink. Alicia giggled hysterically.

"Oh I can remember it like it was yesterday, when he was made Student Council president! I can't believe he said sex instead of sec." She giggled again while Daniel blushed furiously.

"Not like you ever let me forget." Alicia smiled.

"And what are you doing here oh Miss famous actress?" She asked Natalie who winked secretively.

"Actor's convention, I got myself a hot new bodyguard too."

"Oh heavens, didn't they practically mob you at the last one?" Alicia asked worriedly.

"Well, yes, but that was because I was silly enough to think they wouldn't recognize me without my lipstick and tailored clothes." Natalie said with a small laugh.

"And what about you teacher?" Daniel teased gently. Alicia blushed slightly, and the minute he said teacher, it must have reminded her that I was still in the room, turning to me I myself blushed involuntarily, as if I had been caught red-handed seeing something I shouldn't be.

"On that word teacher-" She began and I mentally grinned, knowing I had been right. "allow me to introduce to you one of my students. Katherine, meet Daniel, and Natalie. They were my highschool and university friends." She explained, I nodded unexpectedly, yes my teacher paid attention to me, and I knew now that it was because she wanted to, but I expected her friends to ignore her, just like my parents and their friends always did. I was immediately proven wrong.

"Oh aren't you just the cutest little thing?" Natalie said diving across the room in her stiletto pumps and picking me up while squeezing me like a teddy bear and cooing. As I came to know her, I also came to highly respect her, how many people do you know who can run, skip, jump and climb trees in high heels? Although the issue here at this point in time was that I lacked the ability to breath as her hug was slightly crushing my ribs.

"Nat, I don't think she can breath there." Daniel commented ruefully. Natalie blinked then squeaked and immediately loosened her death grip.

"Oh my gosh I am SO sorry!" She squeaked setting me down. I shook my head blushing still, I was feeling very weird. No one had hugged me like that. Ever.

"It's . . . it's okay." I murmured bashfully. Daniel chuckled quietly and kneeled down a bit smiling that cheerful smile of his.

"It's nice to meet you, I was very shy as a child too." I blinked at him, he held out his hand and continued to grin mischievously.

"I'm Dr. Daniel Viyolan." I raised an eyebrow at his last name.

"Vee-yo-lan?" I repeated slowly in confusion, he laughed.

"Close enough." Slowly, I had started to become accustomed to this weird bunch of people, until Natalie asked a question that sent my slowly lowering defenses right back up with an extra layer of cement for good measure.

"So why are you still at school? When I was your age I couldn't wait to get away from here, doesn't your family worry?" Alicia suddenly made a startled squeak and my eyes turned cold and empty as I dropped Daniel's hand and turned around. The actress noted her mistake immediately.

"Oh . . . oh honey, did I say something wrong?" She asked softly kneeling down beside me. I glanced at my teacher, wondering what she would say, but she seemed torn between the desire of not keeping her friends in the dark, and also being loyal to me. I shrugged.

"You can go ahead and tell them." I said coolly to her, my voice completely devoid of emotion, both Natalie and Daniel looked surprised at my monotone voice as I headed out the door to the outside. My backpack laid forgotten on the floor next to my desk.

* * *

_I don't know why I was so hostile against anyone who mentioned my family, I think deep down as a child I blamed them for the creation of the loneliness. Somehow I always reasoned, it was their fault, they were the ones who made me this way, it was all their fault, and if it weren't for them my life would be normal. As a child, I needed someone to blame, a scapegoat, and they were it. What shames me the most about this way of thinking now, was how easily I placed blame on another. Knowing that deep down, maybe the loneliness was all my fault. After all, I might have very well been the one who created it._

* * *

The metal links creaked and made clanking sounds as I gently swung back on forth on the swing, back to just letting the wind push me occasionally. Upset didn't even cover how I was feeling, of course my family wouldn't care if I was gone or not, my parents didn't return home till 6, and my brother was always hanging out at the basketball hoops after school. It struck me that maybe I was being unreasonable, my parents were very busy and certainly didn't need a daughter who would always be whining about herself, it made me wonder how my brother had made it through, but then again, he had his mother. The mother who was not famous among the world and had time to do all sorts of motherly things for him. When she died it must have hit him pretty hard. I guess. Lost in my own musings I didn't here Daniel come out and sit beside me, until he gave a weary sigh and sat in the swing next to me. I jumped at the sudden creaking and glanced at him with wide eyes. I expected him to act all sympathetic and try to comfort me with his pitying voice, like most adults did, and when he did I would box his ears in, my hands had already clenched into tiny fists, preparing to do so, but what he said surprised, and scared me.

"Your blood family doesn't have to be your only family you know." He said calmly, glancing straight ahead. I blinked in surprise, my eyes going wide as saucers. He continued, despite my lack of response. "Blood is an important tie, and for that you'll always love your relatives, even if they're mean and horrible to you, but you will always love them deep down. It's human nature. But that doesn't mean that they are your only family." He glanced up at the sky and smiled softly, it was a smile filled with hope. "I was kind of in the same situation you were. I hated my parents, and they hated me, I considered them simply as the people who had brought me into this world, and nothing more. I maintained the way of thinking that I had no family, and this continued on until I was 14 and entering my first year of high school." He said calmly. I glanced at him in surprise, before shifting my gaze to the sandy ground.

". . . . what happened?" I asked softly.

"He met us." A voice intervened. I glanced over my shoulder sharply, and found Natalie and my teacher standing there. Alicia came up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, the comforting hug she always gave me when I was down about my family while Natalie took the swing on my other side, gripping the metal chain, she smiled forlornly. "Honey . . . I'm sorry about what I said." I shook my head.

"It's okay, you didn't know." I mumbled quietly. "How did you change Mr. Veeyolan's way of thinking?"

"Call me Daniel, it's easier." He offered chuckling at my mispronunciation of his name. I blinked at this friendly offering. "And as for changing me, it's simple. They taught me the true meaning of family." He answered simply thus. I blinked at him again and it was then that Alicia defined it for me, a meaning I will remember forever.

"Family is said to be people of the same bloodline, but in truth, a family is not made up of blood, but of people, anyone, who will look out for you. They will support you, help you make the right choices, be your shoulder to cry on. They will laugh with you, cry with you, and always be your friend. Your family are people you will trust and love, regardless of blood." Daniel smiled at this definition.

"It's a good idea you became a teacher, you could be teaching at Yale." He teased, Alicia smiled back at him.

"I like elementary better." Meanwhile, I was in the midst of trying to contemplate what my teacher had said. Alicia, knowing my confused face better than any, smiled.

"An example, would be me, Daniel and Natalie. We aren't related through blood in any way, or through family ties. But I consider Daniel and Natalie my brother and sister. I would lay my life down for them without a thought." She said calmly. I glanced at her confused.

"Ditto. Alicia's my big sister." Natalie said cheerfully. "Just like Daniel's my big brother, we would all die for each other, and if not I wanna know why." She said glaring at Daniel who chuckled.

"Yes Nat, I would die for you. You and Ali." He said calmly. Natalie smiled satisfaction.

"Good." I blinked at all of them.

"You're . . . a family?" Alicia nodded at me, smiling a loving mother's smile.

"Yes, and if you want . . . you can be a part of ours, until you find your own." I blinked at her again, then smiled, a first true smile of my young life.

"Yeah!"

"Good. We've got ourselves a little sister." Daniel said cheerfully.

"Oh great, I've been replaced." Natalie complained. Grinning at me mischievously she winked slyly. "I'll race you for position of baby sister!" She challenged. I grinned.

"You're going down." Suddenly swinging my legs out I tried to gain height on the swing as my teacher squeaked and backed away hurriedly. Suddenly Daniel stepped off his swing and stood behind me, pushing my swing further. Natalie squawked indignity.

"No fair Dan!" He simply laughed at her and continued to push.

"Two on one isn't fair Dan, I'll show you to cheat!" Alicia teased as she suddenly started pushing Natalie.

"Bring it on little girl!" Daniel teased. I giggled, and then for the first time in my life, without a single question, worry or concern about my family, laughed as happily as a carefree child should.

* * *

_I didn't see them again after that for a long time. Occasionally I would visit my teacher and we would chat for a bit, maybe go out for ice cream or something, Daniel and Natalie would always send me letters, informing me of what they were doing or how their life was going. Rarely could they make it to my birthdays, I never questioned why, they were busy, they had to travel. I wonder why I never extended this understanding to my own family, but such was the peculiar mind of my child self. My parents however, surprisingly enough, had started picking up on the fact that I was getting letters from unusual people, they thought I was being stalked, and after I turned 13, they always checked my mail, burning any letters I got. This only served to drive me further towards the loneliness. Cut off from my 'family', Kimiko and Magoto, I attempted suicide, I had nothing left anymore. Only when I turned 14, the same age as Daniel had been when he received his lucky strike, did I receive mine. I met The Majestics. More importantly, I met Enrique. I had long since explained to Meg and Akkiko that I thought of them as my sisters, and I wasn't at all surprised when they told me that they too thought of me as closer then blood. We all agreed. Family wasn't made up of blood. It was made up of those you loved, and those who loved you back._

* * *

"Kat?" A knock sounded at my door as I pulled on my black boots, for a day of searching, Akkiko had been obviously devastated by the loss of Tala last night, and I hated to see my sister suffering, Meg was suffering too, hell, even I was. But I wouldn't let it beat me, I was going to find Tala, Enrique and Tyson. For all of us.

"Coming." I called out wearily as I finished tying up the laces, walking over to the door I opened it to the solemn face of Oliver, I nodded to him and hugged him reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll find them." Oliver nodded tiredly and smiled at me gently.

"It's time to go." A voice sounded, I turned slightly to see Kai, his arms were crossed and he was looking extremely sour as usual, but even I couldn't miss the worried gleam in his eye. I nodded and we stepped into the kitchen, where everyone else was. Akkiko sat on the couch, a blade and launcher clutched in her trembling hands, though she was pale, she had the look of a dying man on her face, a look of determination. Meg sat in a chair at the table, her eyes slightly red, her lip quivering, but her hands were clenched and as I walked in, she glanced up at me and nodded. A clear message, she was ready. I nodded and looked around me, at the face I had come to known. Robert, a leader, one who respected me as a woman, as a comrade, and as an ally. Johnny, hot headed, rough, arrogant, brash, but protective of me as a little sister, and as a teammate, even though he didn't believe in that. Oliver, cheerful, the one who showed me that I had more friends then I thought, sensitive to my feelings, he was always concerned about his friends' well being. The Bladebreakers had become a family of Meg's, and the Demolition Boys a family of Akkiko's, and as both were my sisters, that made them all a part of my family too. I nodded again, and smiled faintly. They all turned to look at me, and I met Akkiko and Meg's eyes. They nodded with certainty. I smiled, more determined this time.

"Let's go." I began, and at my next sentence, Akkiko and Meg looked at each other knowingly, while the rest of the boys looked at each other with confusion.

"Let's find the rest of our family."

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, only OCs like Akkiko, Ryan, etc. Meg belongs to herself, Kat to herself, so on so forth.

Author's notes: A lost chapter is something that doesn't overly contribute to the plot, but basically just adds to the atmosphere of the story. Meg and Akkiko will have one too, but I thought to start with Kat since I had the idea for hers all planned out, I have a vague idea of what is going to happen to Akkiko, and no clue what Meg's is going to be about. /


	17. Lost File Kimiko

**Lost File**

_Finding Light_

_It's amazing how many things people take for granted. One of them, would be how often someone says; good job. Great work, or nicely done. Sure someone might say it as a gesture of kindness, but what happens to the people who matter? What happens when they don't say it? My family was always the kind of family that pressured you to do better, I could manage to understand normal levels, but mine took that beyond the bounds of normality. They say nobody's perfect. I just wish that my family would once pretend I was, and show some pride in who I was. I wonder. . . what made them this way? What made them have this want that their child should be perfect. I have this little joke of mine that even if I were the most perfect human, it wouldn't be enough. They would want me to be a god._

* * *

It was night.

Outside the stars blazed with an unusual ferocity, or perhaps that was just me. The moon was a bare sliver, barely viewable as I glanced out the window. I was dressed in loose black shorts and simple navy blue shirt that nearly went down to my knees, a nightgown long forgotten on the top of my bed. With a soft gaze and a forlorn sigh, my head rested on my arms as I sat on my knees, the window sill cold as snow sprinkled down creating what should have been a postcard perfect picture. But to me, it was pointless.

Nothing. Suddenly a door creaked open behind me and I flinched, whirling around, my raven black hair spiraling around in a fan like projection as I did. I knew who stood at the door, the light from the hallway silhouetted him, but it did not change a child's immediate knowledge to sense danger.

Him. The bane of my existence.

"What are you doing still up? And wearing those atrocities! What is the _matter_ with you?" He demanded angrily, his voice sharp and biting, though slightly dull. Obviously drunk. I winced, as his form made its way over to me, with it's heavy lumbering steps and quick, angry strides. And as he stopped in front of me, my head dropped and my gaze fell to the floor, my eyes going dark and lifeless as the dark figured raised his hand, preparing to strike.

This always happened. Always.

* * *

_My mother used words to criticize. My father his hands. It didn't matter what I did, what I was, so long as I was quiet, obedient, prim and proper the way they had tried to raise me, then, I was nothing, I could be ignored because I was satisfactory._

_But I was a child, I wanted things I couldn't have, I wanted the sunlight, the fresh breezes and the ability to run down a field of grass laughing, living in the world without so much as a care. The phrases 'sit straight' and 'that's not ladylike' held no meaning to me at all. Meaningless. When I became a part of The Mystics however, all the things that had lingered on the edge of my life, blurred and unfocused things like love, acceptance, appreciation, they all came into focus at once. It was shocking, almost scary. Though there was one thing I kept hidden._

_While they knew me, they didn't know me. They knew what was commonly referred to as, a mask. A cover, a defensive personality to hide the darker, more sinister one inside. To this day I honestly don't think anyone can truly understand me. Not even them. Maybe they do . . . I'm in too many pieces to find out. It was however one day, when I was 12 years old, that I hit a critical point in my life time._

* * *

I walked down the hallway of my school, my book-bag smacking my right leg slightly as I smiled at a fond memory. Having been sent to a private school, it was almost critical norm that the girls wear their long frilly skirts and little penny-loafers while the boys wore their prim oxford shirts and crisp black ties. I was a trend setter, the girls used to say. A real sore thumb, I couldn't stand skirts, it reminded me too much of home, and of what was expected of me there, so, when no one had been looking, I had stolen a few spare pants from the laundry room for the uniforms and had given my skirts to some poor girl who had torn hers.

All was well.

Or so I thought. It seemed the nuns were quite nearly done in at seeing a girl from their school wearing boy's pants and the girl's top, which I tell you now I was quite tempted to switch as well. Though after some persuasive measures, and the giving up of a dozen or so of my favorite smoke bombs (I was quite the little prankster), I was allowed to keep my interesting uniform. My difference from the others sent me spiraling from the 'average' group of students immediately, and it wasn't too long before I was approached, by him.

Evan Wakersfield. English born and bred, sent over for a little special schooling, he was a red-head with all the right turns and a grin that took your heart away.

Cheesy isn't it? Oh don't worry, it gets better.

It started out as any normal meeting would have gone . . .

"Hi, nice uniform, make it yourself?" He asked right out of the blue as he walked up to me. Off to the side you could almost hear the unified gasps from other girls. I blinked at this new person like some new form of disease.

"Uh, yeah. Sort of." I said a tad sarcastically. He smirked.

"Thought so. It looks like it came from a barnyard." I raised an eyebrow, finally! A boy in this school who wasn't a prissy pants schooled into an inch of his life on manners!

"Well actually it came from the zoo. Though I won't ask where your uniform came from. I'd hate to embarrass you." He also raised an elegant eyebrow and shifted slightly, the books that were tucked under his arm slid a little forward and I could see where that was going.

"Well a lady with manners and the courtesy not to embarrass a better. Quite the trained girl aren't you? I must ask, your hairstyle is quite interesting, do it yourself as well? Or was it done by a professional stylist from Australia? I bet the giant rats there loved it." He said sneering. I was suddenly, hideously reminded of Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series, snide, incredibly rude with a tendency for random insults, yet suave and mysteriously cool. Though he had a point, my tussle in gym class a few minutes ago with a few drama queen bullies had left my hair nothing short of a rat's nest.

"Oh absolutely, only the best you know." I piped, the image of an ever so obedient child. "And I absolutely _love_ your hair! Do you aspire to be in the military? Your hair would make a fine replacement for a helmet, what with the cemented style you have, though it's a little greasy, you would shine like a beacon if it were in the middle of the night!" I commented with an all too innocent grin on my face. It was true, just like Draco Malfoy, I realized with a shudder, he had gelled his hair back, a look that was not good for a redhead. Evan frowned slightly, before he sighed and smiled.

"You are just as the rumors said, and for that I am glad." He said chuckling. "My name is Evan Dillando Wakersfield. Your ancestor and my ancestor, the Fayten Knight were allies back in days of old, and my family encouraged me to . . . acquaint myself with you." I immediately made a face at the last comment and spun around sharply on the heel of my shoe and started off.

"If that's the only reason, do not trouble yourself. Good day Mr. Wakersfield."

"Wait!" He yelled before his hand clamped around my arm. I looked back at him, my face oddly calm and composed as I glared at him stonily. He sweatdropped before hurriedly dropping my arm.

"I apologize if I offended you, but what I meant was, yes my family encouraged me, but I wanted to get to know you, because . . . you're . . . different." He finished lamely with a blush. I blinked again.

"You wished to know because I'm . . ." I repeated vaguely.

"Different." He finished for me with that special smile of his.

* * *

_I often wonder why I fell for him so easily, his conniving little sneer he would wear sometimes in rare moments of extreme cruelty should have warned me._

_But I was desperate. So many years of imperfection, denial of satisfaction and lack of a carefree life had left me vulnerable, despite my best efforts._

_I was a rebel._

_I did anything and everything against the code of a lady._

_I laughed at my mother's biting dismay._

_I taunted my father's cruel fists._

_I jeered at the school who wouldn't accept me._

_I was lonely._

_Now that I look back, it seems so clear I was begging for attention, I will admit, I am an attention seeker, no matter how I try, I was then, and I am now. I'm afraid that if people shut me out, left me alone, I would never escape the wrath of my parents. A human being is a very social creature, much like a lovebird. Left alone, a human would wither from emptiness, die._

_I wish I had died before I had met Evan 'Bloody' Wakersfield._

* * *

It had been 3 months since I had met Evan.

Fallen in love with him.

He attended my every want, gave me gifts that made me turn red with embarrassment and glee. I should have seen it, but I didn't care at the time. He pampered me, I loved it. Of course, every coin has two sides. Good, and bad.

A darn shame Evan's was both bad, black and cold. I had been walking down a school hallway. My bookbag held in my hand as I tried to walk quietly through the corridor, back straight, hair neatly tucked behind my ears, I had been ignoring Kat and Meg for sometime, and I felt bad. But Evan had advised against it, said they seemed a little shady. It seemed his concern was genuine, so I agreed, I tried to blow them off as discreetly as possible.

I still hate myself to this day for it.

My back was straight, I even wore the skirts. Evan said I looked cute in them. I must have been a fool, I followed his every whim, listened to all his meaningless chatter, obeyed his every order disguised as a suggestion.

'Evan said he wanted to see me tonight . . . I bet he'll talk with father again all night long. Honestly, those men, I wonder what they chatter about.' I thought with a tiny smile. As I passed the library, a hard thud sounded in my ears. A sound I had heard too often to not know instantly what it was. I froze in my tracks and glanced at the library doors, they were slightly ajar, so I pushed them aside quietly so they wouldn't creak as I peered inside. Heck I probably could have swung it back and forth like some absurd fan and it wouldn't have creaked. The professors, strict as the wooden sticks used for lashing and obsessed with the quietness of the library wouldn't have allowed squeaky hinges. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, my eyes widened unbelievably.

Blood, marring the polished dark wood stained floor was splattered erratically as a boy with sweat streaked brown hair glared up. The thud had been his body hitting the floor.

"Peasant. Poor sap, you're lucky I do not kill you because I pity you. That and you're a good tool against Cimatura." Evan, who towered over the fallen boy, said mockingly, his eyes narrowed and vengeful. There was an undeniably cruel sneer to his lips and he laughed as he shoved the heel of his left foot into the boy's face. The boy on the ground, whose nose was bleeding heavily, obviously broken, fell back and coughed, blood spraying from his lips. His chest looked in pain.

Ryan.

My neighbor. My source of comfort before Evan.

My one true friend since childhood.

We were both outcasts, I less than him. His family was poor, and he was only here because his family had been in long servitude to mine, my parents paid for his tuition.

"I'd deck you right now if you weren't . . ." Ryan growled viciously wiping blood from his lips with the back of his hand. His sentence trailed off and he lost his homicidal look, his gaze falling into accepted defeat.

"Weren't what?" Evan asked mockingly. "The boyfriend of Cimatura? She's cute isn't she? Will make a nice little wife. Admit it peon, you are scared to hurt me because it will make her upset." He said with a jeering laugh and another blow to Ryan's chest. Why was he allowing Evan to do this? Why didn't he fight back? Every part of my mind screamed 'STOP!'. My heart ached and said the opposite. Friend, or love?

To my eternal shame I closed the door and ran.

* * *

_It will always stand as the biggest mistake I had ever made._

_Especially considering what would happen the next day. Even now my heart burns with shame, anger and despair. To be tricked so easily . . . it disgusts me._

* * *

"Leave the men to talk Kimiko. Go to your room and read." My mother pressed as she ushered me away from the study where both Evan and my father were currently seated.

"I just wanted to say good night to Evan!" I protested quietly, a little put out, the memory of the previous day with Ryan pressed to the corners of my mind. My mother smiled at me.

It was that smile that started my suspicions.

It was not an emotionless one, it was not absent, it was not even nasty. It was a knowing smirk.

I couldn't have been more scared at the moment even if a maniac had burst through the door wielding an ax in one hand and a chainsaw in the other, both covered with blood.

"Not tonight love, just go to bed like a good girl." She said gently pushing me up the stairs. 'Love?' Since when had she called me that? I was definitely nervous now. But a small part of me sparked alive, the last vestiges of my rebelliousness that hadn't been quelled by Evan and my adoration for him, and that small part began to form a plan. I nodded, bid a graceful goodnight to my mother and walked serenely to my room and shut the door silently. I could almost hear my mother smirk her approval.

15 minutes later when she walked past my door and into her own room to soak in her bath, which I knew would last at least a good hour, for she liked to let the rose water cleanse her pores, as she like to put it, I carefully slipped a simple blue dress that included extremely long sleeves on and exited my room quietly, all that practice I had done for Evan had paid off in this part. 3 months ago I would have been as loud as a flamingo in clown shoes. Slipping down the stairs, I headed to the kitchen and quickly pulled out a silver tray, carefully sliced some of my father's expensive cheese, what he saw in it I would never see. At least I hoped not. That accomplished, I set two forks upon it as well and a fresh knife, just in case I had cut them too large. Then I carefully began towards the study. The tray was a ruse, my father would have undoubtedly been suspicious if I entered the room with no purpose, the tray was a cover, a decoy I plotted. As I neared the study, the door, of course, was ajar. My mother had probably forgotten to close it. It seemed I would always learn hard lessons through ajar doors.

". . . well enough of the small talk boy, how are things between you and my daughter?" I heard my father's rough voice asked brazenly. He had obviously been drinking.

"In terms of relationship," I heard Evan's crisp voice begin. "marvelous." And my heart soared, I had made the right choice! Ryan must have upset Evan yesterday, he must have done something horrible! My mind quickly settled into relief, tomorrow I would just ask Evan about it, and he would explain it, then I would reply I would end my friendship with Ryan, and we would be well and whole again.

The happiest couple ever.

Then Evan continued.

"In terms of tolerance, absolutely horrible. I can't stand the girl, she's uncouth and terribly uncivilized, if not for the wealth and inheritance of the Cimatura lands, I wouldn't even consider her!"

I froze.

My world shattered like a glass figurine, each invisible piece striking my skin, leaving an imaginary, but just as painful a wound.

"Yes well, we struck a deal, and a Wakersfield must keep his word." My father continued calmly and paused, probably to take another sip of his wine. "You marry the girl, keep her prim and proper, and you get the lands and inheritance. I won't die with her tarnishing his name."

The name.

That stupid, stupid name. They would break my heart . . . just for honor. In my pain and horror, the tray began to slip from my numb fingers, it broke my trance and I quickly tightened my grip to keep it from slipping, and to my credit I managed to keep it from falling, but the knife slipped off.

Clattering to the floor, I heard with dread as the two voices inside stopped talking. Glancing up I straightened just in time to see the door swing open.

"O-oh . . . good evening Evan, father." I said a tad nervously. Evan looked surprised at first, then his face quickly changed to suspicion.

"Are you alright Kimiko?" He asked quietly, his gaze searching. I quelled under that gaze.

"Perfectly fine." I managed out.

"Are you certain? You're looking a bit pale." He said softly. I immediately realized what he meant. Since meeting him, whenever I was clumsy, I blushed. Turned bright red. I knew that at this point in time my cheeks were cold as ice. Not with embarrassment, but fear, anguish, and pain.

"I must be a bit ill, mother said I was looking a tad sickly. I'm off to bed right now in fact, but I thought you might be hungry and . . ." I showed him the tray of cheese. Evan's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.

"That's very thoughtful of you. Just bring it in and then head off to bed alright? I wouldn't want you sick." He commented. I nodded and stooped low to pick up the knife and then with a nervous smile, entered the study and set the tray down next to my father's wine. When I pulled back I slipped the knife into my sleeve calmly. My father was glancing at me suspiciously.

"Did you hear anything my dear?" He asked me cautiously. I glanced at him, and even in my state of paralysis and shock, managed a ridiculing stare. Why not just blare that they had been speaking of private matters that concerned me?

"Nothing but something of tarnishing a name. Why?" I asked carefully looking at him. My father spared me another glance, then shrugged.

"Just curious, now head off to bed dear." I nodded, and with a quick curtsy, headed out, eager to be free of that confining and nightmarish room. I would never step inside that room again.

As I left the room, to my dread and lack of surprise, Evan followed. Closing the door behind him, he called out.

"Kimiko! A moment if you please." He said quietly. I froze in my hurried footsteps. For a moment, I hesitated, debating the option to run, but why? Why was I afraid? Turning to face him slowly, and with fear, I glanced into a face I had once gazed upon with love, now hate, despair and despise.

"Yes Evan?" I replied, a tad bit sharper than meant. He walked up to me and took my hand gently, I almost thought he was going to kiss it like he had a few times in a gesture of respect. It had made me blush and stutter the first time.

I was so naïve.

No, instead he took both my hands gently by the wrists with both hands and smiled at me.

Then slammed me against the wall.

My vision sparked with stars as my head smacked the wall, pain jolting through my body. His hands held mine above my head as he leaned in, his eyes narrowed.

"Little liar." He hissed coolly into my ear. With my vision swimming, I glanced at him in fear. Evan sneered at me, the same cruel smile I had seen when he had beaten Ryan. There.

That is what I feared.

He wouldn't allow anyone or anything to stop him, not even the crime of murder.

He would kill for my inheritance.

"W-what-?" I managed out before he snarled his frustration and his hold on my wrists tightened causing pain to spark.

"Alright, I will make this as simple as I can for your crystal clear understanding since I know you heard enough to piece together the truth. You keep quiet. Keep acting the same way. We're a happy couple. In 5 years we get married, you'll be a year under the law, but I'm sure a few pounds will obliterate that obstacle. We have a child, you raise him, I take on the business. Got it?" He asked harshly. "I won't have you ruin all the hard work I've put into you!" It was those words.

They sparked rebellion in me, a fire I had thought long dead flared to life, but it was too small. And a want for revenge mixed with despair and fear was not a good mix.

"You make it sound like I didn't know." My mouth suddenly sounded. It was on automatic now, my words were taking shape to what my mind was creating on the spot. Evan blinked at me, and for the first time lost his composure.

"Pardon?"

"You make it sound like I never knew you didn't love me. Of course I know, you talk with my father, I talk with my mother." I said calmly with a smile. "Now, _husband to be_," I accented with purpose. "I don't think a husband should injure his wife, now if you will let go of me, we shall be fine." I said calmly, and for a moment Evan stared at me, before releasing my wrists. I nodded and smiled with a touch of a sneer to my lips. Letting my hands drop to my sides, I reassured myself that my grip on the knife I had slipped away from the tray was secure.

"And before you even ask, I gain from this the breaking of a few bridges. Spending time with my handsome," I almost gagged on the word. "boyfriend takes away my time to spend with friends. I lose contact with Meg, Kat and the peasant Ryan, you get the lands and inheritance." Slowly, his eyes calculating, he gazed at me, his look searching. Finally, he nodded.

"A petty reason. Now be gone, I will not bear the sight of you any longer than I must." He said and with a sharp turn, walked back to the study. I smiled.

"Of course." And headed back to my room.

* * *

_It's scary, when you have a purpose in life, a focused objective. A single goal you can accomplish now and with ease. Your mind clears, and everything seems sharper, you know what you have to do, and there is no indecision, no fear._

_Nothing but determination._

_An emptiness, nothing of doubt or hesitation. Just purpose, and in my case, hate._

* * *

A phone rang, with a start the boy woke in his bed, his head pounding, and gingerly he rubbed his bandaged nose before sitting up. Glancing at the clock, and seeing it to be almost midnight, he growled about insane callers and that if it was a tele-marketer, they'd better be good with their gods.

"Hello?" He asked, his voice slurring as he picked up the phone. Yawning, he ran a hand through his hair, when was it that his life had gotten so miserable?

"I'm sorry."

That made him freeze.

It wasn't so much as the words, but the tone. It was empty, dead.

Scarily lifeless.

"Whose this?" He asked, a little spooked.

"I'm so sorry. . . I saw it, and didn't do anything. I don't deserve your friendship. Forgive me . . . please."

" 'miko? Kimiko?" Ryan started asking worriedly.

"He won't win. I won't let him. Goodbye Ryan. I'm sorry."

The line went dead.

* * *

Evan smiled as he exited the study, Kimiko's father sound asleep after having consumed large amounts of cheese and wine. He calmly shut the door, and walked into the foyer, glad that he wouldn't have to be affectionate with his wife-to-be 24/7 now. She knew the truth, and was still willing to go through, how foolish of him to worry. Evan didn't need her to love him, but it would makes things so much the simpler if she was cooperative and willing. He had just accepted his jacket from the doorman, when the front door burst open. Ryan's family had served the Cimatura's for years, and automatically that gave them keys to access all the doors. Not to mention their property was so close to the Cimatura lands, it was a wonder they weren't debating property ownage.

"MOVE!" He yelled forcefully shoving Evan out of the way, landing the prep boy on his British ass. Pardon, arse. Evan gaped wildly.

"Why you-! Get back here!" He snarled in a rage at being brutishly handled by a peasant. Getting to his feet, he ran after Ryan.

Ryan skidded the corner, his hair spraying wet drops as he ran, he was absolutely soaking wet as it was raining outside. Almost as if the gods were upset and decided to throw a thunderstorm to display their rage, that or they were setting the environment to the mood. Tense, and desperate. Leaving scuff marks on the floor, he flew up the stairs and rounded the banister towards Kimiko's room. The noise attracted Kimiko's mother.

"What on Earth-!" She managed out as she exited her room, body concealed in a bath robe as Ryan flew by her. Her hair was sopping wet and she had obviously just gotten out of her bath. Ryan ignored her as he swung open Kimiko's door with desperate fear.

* * *

_It was simple. If I died, Evan wouldn't get the inheritance or land. I couldn't tarnish the name any further, so why would my parents be upset? They wouldn't have a reason to give it to the Wakersfields. One wrist, blood dribbling out of it and pooling on the floor. The blade gleamed in the lightening the flashed outside._

_Beautiful. I have always loved crimson red for some unknown reason. It's spectacular, the color. Such a deep, entrancing color, capable of meaning life, or death. The coppery smell filled the air and I couldn't help but smile a little sadly. What a cruel way for me to have my revenge._

_Entranced by the crimson liquid falling to the floor, I watched it for some time, before moving to my other wrist._

* * *

The door banged open and in surprise, the knife went askew, barely nicking the skin. I stared at it, a little put out for some reason, poutish I suppose, before strong arms suddenly grabbed both my wrists and held them apart.

"Drop it!" A brazen voice, harsh with breathing ordered. "DROP THE FUCKING KNIFE NOW!" That swear, that crude and uncouth swear snapped me from my trance. It was almost like sleepwalking, gazing at my wrist, I was a little surprised to find it bleeding. Then I realized who was supporting me.

"R-Ryan?" I managed out, my throat felt dry.

"He's not worth it 'miko!" The voice yelled, and I froze.

". . . wh . . .at?"

"Evan is a piece of shit! He's not the one!" Ryan yelled in desperation, and I was a little scared to realize he was crying. I knew it was tears, because even though his body was soaking wet, his clothes dripping cold rainwater, droplets of warmth hit my shoulder, bringing life back into my consciousness.

"I know what your life is like Akkiko!" He cried, finally using my nickname. And I stiffened. Only those whom I truly cared about, and who truly cared for me used that name. Why had I never told it to Evan when I loved him? "You said it yourself once! It's a tunnel, a dark black tunnel and there's nothing in it but darkness and loneliness! You said you were waiting for the light! He is _not_ your light dammit!" Ryan yelled, his voice deep with anger.

"One day you're going to find the right person! You'll find your light! And he'll be perfect for you! He'll be kind, sincere, he'll love you on first site and you'll love him back! He won't give you meaningless gifts, he'll know how to make you happy without them! He'll protect you with his life, and you'll know he's the one when you think about losing him! Because it will make your chest ache and make you cry!" Ryan hissed, his grasp tight around my wrist, slowing the blood from flowing.

"That . . . that worthless shit Wakersfield is not your light . . . and I know I'm not either." Ryan finally finished. "But he's out there. You'll find him Akkiko . . ." His sentence trailed off, pain flooding his voice, and it suddenly made sense. All of it.

Why Ryan didn't tell me of the abuse Evan dealt him.

Why he didn't strike back.

Why he took everything in silence.

He loved me.

Enough to face cruelty and not strike back to keep me ignorant.

To keep me happy.

He loved me.

But . . . I didn't love him back.

"Ryan . . ." I murmured, trying to turn.

"Don't move." He suddenly ordered as he moved to my side, and quickly tore his loose shirt to strips and tied it around my wrist. "I'll get you to the hospital, I just need a set of keys and a car." He said firmly as he tied a firm knot around the cut, ignoring the tear tracks on his face. "Here." Grabbing my hand he placed it over the makeshift bandage.

"Keep applying pressure, you're not dying." He said fiercely, his hands slightly frantic. The feel of his hands . . . I found it was different. Comforting, Evan's hands were smooth, soft. Ryan's were callused, rough, and protective. Was it shocking to realized I preferred Ryan's hands?

Why was I even thinking about hands? I didn't even realize there was more then 2 people in the room, until someone snarled.

"Stupid whore!" Evan snarled starting forward. "Cheating me of **_my_** inheritance?" He demanded angrily, his hands clenched in fists. Ryan glared at him, then glanced at me.

"Do you love him?" He asked simply.

I shook my head.

Ryan curled his hand into a fist. His right hand I vaguely remember.

Evan didn't even wake up as Ryan stepped on his chest, over him and out the door, me in tow with a slightly bewildered, but amused gaze.

* * *

_My light._

_I've kept the description ever since. Evan, to his credit didn't give up on me, he kept trying for my dowry, it was only when he took me to a social party and I danced around in leather pants and a bra he finally conceded defeat and retreated from my life._

_Ryan, became my big brother. In time, love turned to sibling fondness, and we never betrayed each other, or kept secrets ever again._

_I became whole around him, and after rekindling my friendship with Meg and Kat, I felt more alive then ever._

_My father and mother regarded the incident with Evan as a failed idea._

_I changed, or rather, returned to a better version of my old self._

_I was rebellious._

_I laughed._

_I learned to be carefree._

_I never was lonely again._

_I felt like a God._

_And the best part?_

_I felt like a god, and I was still imperfect, flawed, and every bit as scrappy as I was before Evan._

_My parents must have been furious._

* * *

No comforting hands this morning.

Not that I expected it. Sitting on the couch, my hands clutched around a blade and a launcher, that wasn't mine.

No, it was his.

The Demolition boys didn't offer comfort, they offered support, and security. If you needed someone to watch your back, you could depend on them. The sound of feet reached my ears and everyone in the room, including myself, turned to look. There stood Kat, Oliver and Kai by her side. Kat seemed a bit red in the eyes, lack of sleep or crying? I wondered. Meg was on the other side of the room, at the table and despite her despaired face, she was ready to fight.

As Meg nodded to Kat, and Kat nodded back, I saw Kat glanced around the room, and took the chance to do the same.

Ian, short, possessed a childish fear of the unknown and temperamental, but a brother, both big and little all at once. Spencer, quiet, unresponsive but wise and silent in support. Someone you could always have a companionable silence with. Brian, ice cold, a jerk and insensitive on the outside, but on the inside he was vulnerable just like I was, perhaps I held the most in common with him. We had both been hurt, we both held masks and were crying out on the inside, I just had been healed. He still needed help. I would give any I could.

The Bladebreakers and the Majestics, Kat and Meg's friends, and thus mine as well. I often wondered how such a little family of three got to be so big. Then it hit.

Mr. Dickinson you sly old coot.

Leaving my musings I looked back at Kat in time to catch her eye, and we nodded in unison.

The light theory had been shared long ago, around the same time of the family theory from Kat.

"Let's go." Kat began, Meg and I looked at each other knowingly, while the rest of the boys looked at each other with confusion.

"Let's find the rest of our family." I smiled, nodded, and stood.

"Find our family . . . bring back our light." I stated with a smile.

Ryan, if only you could see the kind, handsome, sincere, gentle, and perfect light I had.

I'm sure you'd agree.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, I only own the plot and the OCs.

Author's notes: Well this dragged on a tad bit longer then I wanted it to. X3

Sorry about the time it took for it to update, just been working on some original fics, that and I was grounded off the compy for a while.

(sigh)

I wrapped Dynasty Warriors 4 and Pocket fighter 3 times each. T.T


	18. Lost File Magoto

**Lost File**

_Restoring hope_

_I truly do believe, that we are all born into this world to fulfill a certain extent of objectives, to complete the objectives set for us, before we return the void of nothingness from whence we all came. However, I can also clearly understand how someone might lose sight of that, how they can no longer clearly see their goals. Even though it may lie beneath your very nose. When I was 12 years old, I lost sight of my purpose in life, I lost hope. Of my entire life, I believe this one memory is one of those I shall always remember, and never be able to forget. The sharpness of this memory, I feel shall always haunt me for life._

* * *

The greatest joy of my entire life, has and always will be one simple thing that came into existence on one warm, sunny spring day. It was still slightly wet outside, the soils very moist with winter thawing and the new buds of plant life.

But this day was special to me, because of one, specific, life.

Her, my darling little sister, she was, dare I say, the most perfect little angel and most horrendous little devil all rolled into one.

Her golden blonde locks, so similar to those of our father's, were curled into delicate wisps and her porcelain blue eyes were miniature jewels, her pearl white teeth were simply divine and her skin so healthy and pink, I swore she must have been a child of God's own, personal creation, please don't look at me that way, I was after all only a child.

But it was her smile, and her resemblance of mother, that made me love her on sight. When my mother returned home that day, when I was but a mere age of 11, I remember the awe at the appearance of fragile life cuddled in my mother's arms.

And my mother, always mindful of me and father together, asked me to help her name the young baby girl.

And so, my father, my mother and I named her together.

Erlana Satsuka.

Erin.

I swore on that day, I, Magoto Satsuka, would always protect my baby sister, no matter what happened.

* * *

_The foolishness of youth, how I remember it so well. The nativity that would guide us through our early years, into the corrupted filth of adultery. How glad I was to have a sister, the joys we would have! Sneaking into each others' rooms, whispering of secrets late into the night to be discovered by our mother in the morning as we curled around each other for warmth and comfort, and she would share a laugh with us and exclaim she had done the exact same thing with her sisters._

_When our father was home from his wars, he would fling us into the air, catch us and swing us around, make merry with our days and fulfill our lives with excitement and joy. We would go out often when he was present, for shopping ventures, family dinners and pleasant things that allowed us to be a whole family._

_Day in and day out, it was the same, despite our father's routinely absence from our lives, mother ensured we all grew up more than happy, we were flourishing. In a sense, it seems only natural that I would share the birth of my blood born sister with my non blood sisters._

* * *

Black wrist bands, darker than the deepest ebony, covered my wrists.

Much to large for my scrawny wrists, I twirled them happily and with glee as I skipped down the hallway, whoever had given them to me was very well appreciated. The soft silk of the bands treated my skin tenderly with a loving hug, almost reminding me of my mother's embrace. As I skidded around a corner, ignoring the nagging voice that mother would lecture me later for scuffing her floors, I dashed down the hallway and into my room, and after shutting the door shut tightly, I picked up the phone from it's cradle on my night-table and dialed a number as I grinned triumphantly, and flopped on my fluffy pink bed, cheery with good humor.

"Hello?" A deep voice received as the ringing ended.

"Hello, may I speak with Katherine Muller?" I asked pleasantly.

"Sure, one sec." And from their end of the line she could hear a barely muffled (which meant whoever had picked up had covered the receiver with his hand) yell of: 'SIS! Get the stupid phone!'

There was a brief moment of silence, before a click signified another person had picked up.

"… hello?"

"Hey! Kat!"

"Oh- Dain I got it! Meg! How is it going?" She asked chipperly.

"Wonderful, give me a sec, I'll dial up Akkiko." And after hurriedly clicking flash and dialing Akkiko's number (god bless the man who had come up with it), I clicked the flash button again and smiled.

"Kat?"

"Yes?"

"Okay, just checking to make sure I still have you." I said chipperly as the ringing began once more.

Scarily enough, it was picked up before the first ring was even halfway through.

"Hullo?"

"Do you sit by the phone or something Akkiko-chan?" I asked teasingly.

"Hm? No. Why?" I released a small laugh of amusement and shook my head.

"Where are your parents?"

"You mean homework-nazis." Kat muttered with an audible air of distaste.

"They're out to a formal dinner, guaranteed freedom till 3am." Akkiko muttered calmly as she sat back in a comfy chair and pulled a magazine towards her.

"That's great! Anyway, there is a reason I called you two, guess what!" I exclaimed gleefully, barely containing my happiness.

"You jumped off a roof!" Akkiko exclaimed back with mock surprise. Immediately I glared at the phone and gave an indignant squeak.

"Akkiko!" There was a sharp round of laughter and the quiet giggling of Kat in reply and I pouted.

"No, I did not jump off a roof." I finally muttered with a roll of my eyes, not missing Akkiko's quiet 'dang.' Into the phone.

"You are a horrible child! You know that?"

"I know."

"Nothing like Erin whatsoever."

"I kn- wait- whose Erin?"

"Oh my gawd! AKKIKO!" I yelled into the phone at which Kat also exclaimed;

"Oh my gosh! Meg congratulations!"

"Who? What? Who shot who in the what now?" Akkiko exclaimed surprised and Kat released another giggle, Akkiko always managed to get a laugh out of Kat with that line.

"You have the memory of a jellyfish!" I snapped in mock anger as I pretended to death glare her.

"Squid actually, please enlighten me." The brunette replied steadily as she flipped through her magazine. Reclined comfortably in her chair.

"Erin… you know… the name Meg and her parents wanted to give the baby if it was a girl…" Kat put in gently.

"What baby?"

"…"

"Akkiko…"

"What Kat?"

"… You do remember her mom was pregnant, right?"

"… no."

"Oh boy…" I had somehow managed to stayed silent through this exchange with a look of utter disbelief on my face as I stared at the phone incredulously.

"Akkiko… do you know what a baby is?" I finally asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, that bundle thingy brought by the stork right?"

"…"

"Akkiko… you are so unbelievably…" Kat began.

"Retarded?" I put in mildly, interrupting Kat's sentence.

"MEG!" Kat shrieked.

"What!" I yelped back.

"Don't call her a retard!"

"But-!" I began futilely when Akkiko broke into our argument.

"Uh huh, whatever, so uh, Erin is your sister or something?" Akkiko broke in boredly, her voice sounded a tad nasal now, it was a safe bet to say she had popped some bubble gum into her mouth.

"… Meg, I take it back." Kat muttered underneath her breath and I snickered.

"Answer the question!" Akkiko pouted. "Is she your sister or something?"

"… No Akkiko, she's my demonic alien twin from Mars!"

"Better than Uranus."

"AKKIKO!" Kat yelled this time.

"WHAT!" She yelled back, and I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. It had been too long since we had conversed like this, all three of us, and acting completely insane without a single regard for the rules.

"Anyway," Akkiko began, cutting in on my uproarious laughter. "Can I help raise her?" She asked excitedly.

"NO!" We both yelled back, neither of us could stand the idea of another Akkiko in this world.

Horrible would be an understatement of the year.

"Phoo." She muttered slumped in her chair and returned to her magazine.

"Whatever, but anyway, congratulations Meg! Oh my gosh, is your mother okay? Is the baby cute?" I giggled unbearably with giddiness and nodded, forgetting she couldn't see me perform that action.

"My mother is perfectly fine and the baby is so adorable! But what a hellion! She yanked my hair so badly yesterday!"

"Ouch." Kat murmured appreciatively and smiled. "Well that's good!" We had both settled into an amiable conversation, as there was nothing but magazine page rustles from Akkiko's end, it seemed we had mock offended her and she had decided to ignore us for the time being. There was the rustle of a few more pages, before Akkiko's eyes landed on a page and she scanned it, a strangled choke escaped her throat as a result. Kat paused in her sentence and blinked, looking at the phone.

"Akkiko? Are you okay?"

Akkiko was silent, before she suddenly took in a deep breath and…

"OH MY GOSH DAMN FREAKEN AWESOME GOD!"

Her voice suddenly erupted into a yell of triumph and glee.

"OW!" Kat and myself both yelped as we yanked the phone away from our ears.

"Damn her stupid lungs." I growled as I clapped my ear repeatedly, and when Akkiko's yells had subsided from unbearable to tolerable, I replaced my ear onto the receiver and from her babble, managed to gain the words;

Tournament, awesome, and cheese doodles.

Don't ask.

"Akkiko, why are you talking about cheese doodles?" I asked dully.

"What? What about cheese- nevermind, guys! Guess what! Guess what guess what guess what!"

"Can we get a word between those screams of joy to guess first?" Kat commented dully.

There was instance silence.

"Dude…" I breathed in awe. "That is a very handy trick Kat, can you teach it to me?" I asked gleefully, awed that she had gotten Akkiko quiet so quickly.

"No. Now Akkiko, what are you so happy about?"

"The beyblade tournament has been announced!"

"… the what?" I got out with a raised eyebrow. There was a sudden scream of anguished suffering from Akkiko's end and she suddenly yelled back out;

"THE BEYBLADE TOURNAMENT! THE BIGGEST SPORT IN ALL OF THE WORLD! THE TOURNAMENT YOU FOOL!"

"Owwww…" I grumbled, rubbing abused hearing appendages. "I got it, I got it. Why is this a big d-?" But before I could finish with my word, 'deal', Akkiko broke in.

"… Oh. My. God." She breathed.

"Akkiko?" Kat managed in. "Akkiko, remember to breath."

"All ages accepted, contestants will compete in local tournaments and the finalists of these mini round tournaments will be able to head to the world championship finals after the world tour. Teams must be made up of three members minimum with a possible fourth as a replacement. Those who win their local finals may pair up with any finalists from all over the world for teammates to represent a country. We have SO GOT TO DO THIS!"

"What! I can't do sports, I suck at sports!" Kat shrieked.

"You stand there and shoot a spinning top, you can do it Kat!"

"Forget her, I can barely life a 5 pound dumbbell!" I protested.

"Then exercise you idiot! Please? C'mon guys, at least try! We can do it under an alias! And a team name, please? Pretty please?"

"…"

"… I promise I won't send either of you any prank packages for 2 years."

"Deal." Kat and I both agreed at once. From Akkiko's end there was a great deal of clapping.

"Yes! This will be so awesome! We have to arrange a meeting date so I can start training you guys and show you the basics!" There was a unanimous groan from myself and Kat as we sighed, what had we gotten ourselves into?

"Oh, before that though, we need a name."

"Name?" Kat repeated tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"A team name, you know, for when we head to the world tournament, after we join forces!"

"This is not star wars, or battleship, or Risk, for crying out loud Akkiko." I snapped at her, I could almost envision her pout.

"… why not… something ritzy?" Kat suggested mildly.

"Oh Kat, not you too!" I moaned.

"The Demons!" Akkiko offered.

"Oh hell no, that is far too cheesy." I snapped.

"Agreed." Kat muttered. "It has to be something we all agree on as well."

"The Unknowns?" I commented.

"I am not going to be named after some Pokemon!" Kat snapped.

"I concur." Akkiko commented with a cheesy laugh.

"The Celestials?"

"… not bad, but still far too dramatic." I commented dimly.

"How about… something with the letter 'M'?" Akkiko suggested.

"Huh? Why M?" I asked vaguely.

"Well, since it's such as special day for you, what with your sister and all, we oughta make the name special in your memory!"

"I ain't dead Akkiko."

"We can hope." Akkiko replied cheerfully and I sighed.

"… Guys…" Kat suddenly broke in.

"Hm?" Akkiko and I commented at once.

"Do you remember… _Uujou_?"

"… Of course we do, we are always going to remember that." I said, glancing fondly at my wrist garments. And with the thought of those bands, Talon.

"Yeah." Kat commented dimly glancing at her bracers, smiling with a thought of Razor.

"Hn." Akkiko commented dimly, glancing at her fingerless black gloves, she had gotten no sacred spirit, at least, none that she could find.

"That which connects us…" Kat continued softly as she lowered the phone, still staring at her bracers.

"That which binds us…" I commented as I hung up the phone, immediately breaking contact with the others through the phone.

_That which makes us one._ Akkiko declared through our mind link. And I smiled.

There we stood, in a realm of pure black, with only each other in our sights. Our entities represented in color.

This was the realm, of Uujou.

Akkiko was shrouded in black smoke, myself a blue mist, while Kat lingered as a wispy white fog.

And at the center of their hazy figures, was a glowing bright circular symbol. For Kat it was a wolf, for myself a phoenix, Akkiko's symbol was still hazy however, unknown.

_Each of us, here in _Uujou_, we can see each other, our very cores. _Kat murmured softly as she held a hand over her heart.

_Our mystical spirits._ I whispered back. And suddenly, we all smiled.

_Our mystical souls._ Akkiko said thoughtfully, and we stared at each other grinning.

_The Mystics._

(-!-)

_Our name was set, we were ready._

_Training began not too shortly afterwards, and we all pushed hard, at first only because Akkiko wanted us to, but in the end, because we had come to love and enjoy the sport. And I remember it so well, the day Akkiko received Falcon, it was at the American tournament, she had come up against some fairly difficult opponents, and she was the tie breaker. In her final moment, before she was destroyed, she yelled, quite literally, for the whole world to hear that she would not be the fall of her team, and that she would make it to the world championship finals even if it cost her everything in the end._

_A flash of black, and there he was, and she carried a sword, nothing was ever the same again after that._

_I often wonder, why, and who, gave use our bitbeasts._

_Did they know the path we would take?_

_Did they guide us with some invisible hand?_

_I couldn't care._

_My father never knew, he had been called away to a growing problem in a third world country, and had never been able to come to any tournaments. Mother never felt the need to tell him, even though she taped each and every one of my matches._

_My mother always was there at my tournaments. Sitting in the stands, cheering me on._

_With my little sister._

_I won all my battles, I always won my battles._

_Always, with them looking on._

_I would never show defeat in the fact of my family._

_In the face of the mother I cherished so, and the sister I loved dearly._

_I refused to be taken by defeat, I promised myself to be strong and protect them both, I would always protect my mother and sister._

_Foolish nativity._

* * *

Rain.

It soaked the ground and turned the firm soil into mush.

The flowers seemed to hide their faces from me as I walked by, garbed in my black dress, a veil of pure ebony silk hanging over to hide my features.

Which was all the same, since they were twisted into a horrendous picture of pain. My sister could not be here because of the cold, it would affect her frail body, and I found, with little surprise, I did not want her here either.

I hated my sister.

There I stood, my father beside me in his pristine black tux and dark coat.

There we both stood, staring blankly, not believing.

My mother, my beautiful, loving, beloved mother, there.

In that… that… **box!** How could they?

Just bury her like that, she deserved more, she deserved parades, waves of mourners and songs written in her honor, she needed more than just a box and some flowers!

I couldn't cry.

I had to be strong.

Had to, I was the woman of the house now.

The cause of death was simple, just a simple, simple blunder.

My sister's blood was Rh negative, my mother's Rh positive. When their blood mixed during birth, it shouldn't have had an affect. But it did.

Just one simply tiny mistake, just the littlest one, a misplaced incision, allowing a pocket of my sister's blood to penetrate, recuperate in that little pocket, before the reproducing cells burst, and slowly began to take over the bloodstream, this in turn, weakened my mother's immune system.

And so, when she contracted a virus, one that, while dangerous in it's own way, wouldn't normally have had a lasting effect, it killed her.

She should never have died.

My sister…

I remember the heat leaving my body, leaving nothing but a cold, empty, hollow shell.

I was so empty.

Devoid of all emotion.

But one.

Hate.

* * *

_My reasoning was cruel, I admit this now, and will always. I blamed my sister for my beloved mother's death. I loved my mother so deeply, so greatly that I couldn't bare the thought of life without her, how would I live? Perhaps then I wouldn't. I couldn't, really. How could I live without my mother, the woman who had brought me into this world, who had given me light and life, brought me hope and laughter, given me… so much?_

_The day after I flew back out to Russia, I was lucky that Akkiko had managed to find her friend in time for him to replace me in the tournament. She said his name was Ryan, and that they were good friends, he must have done well, because we won three battles straight. They had let me go, because I had told them my mother was deathly ill._

_It would remain that way, I couldn't tell them, I wouldn't. I had to be strong. For a year, I would lie to them and tell them my mother was alive, but ill._

_I arrived the day after my mother's funeral, if I looked ill, neither Kat nor Akkiko said anything of it._

_I did my best to pretend normal, and it must have worked, I am after all, the best actor of my drama class._

_In fact, I must have been very good at acting, Kat commented that I seemed very cheerful and that it gave her confidence._

_Childish nativity._

_Two days after my mother's funeral, I did what I could to act normal. I wanted to be first to battle that day, so that if I erred, my companions would be able to fix my mistakes._

_I lost my first battle of the tournaments that day._

_I also lost Talon that day._

_I lost the final match of the World Championship finals._

* * *

I picked up the knife, twirling it idly in my hand, how simple it was, nothing more than folded and polished sheets of metal, and yet… so deadly.

Again I twirled the knife in a wide arc, it slipped once, nicking my finger, but I let the drop of blood slide and smiled simply. Sitting on my bed, I mused over this scenario, had it really been so long since I had sat just like this once? But instead of twirling a blade, I twirled a lock of hair, and instead of my expression of hatred, wore one of glee? My smile grew as I stopped spinning the knife and decided on a final action, why not relive the moment? Leaning back on dark, navy blue blankets, the pink had been replaced long ago, I picked up the phone and dialed, without even having to look.

"Hello?" A voice picked up.

"Hey, Kat."

"Huh? Oh… hi Meg." Kat murmured awkwardly. "How's it going?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"… my mother is dead."

"… oh- oh, oh god Meg… are you okay?" I surprised the urge to break into hysterical laughter, what kind of question was _that_?

"… no. I'm not fine." I whispered back, gripping the knife between my index finger and thumb.

"Do you want me to come over? I'll fly right out on the next plane." Kat offered me, her voice laced with worry.

"No. I don't want you to see me this way." I replied curtly, sharply. My voice was blunt, and crisp, it shocked her.

"Oh… alright then… Meg…"

"It was my sister. There was a birthing difficulty that hid itself for over a year, then killed her."

"… Meg…"

"I can't live without her Kat." I suddenly said, my voice cracking as a lone tear slipped down my cheek. "I can't. And I won't."

"Meg! Don't talk that way!" Kat snapped suddenly, and I flinched in surprise from her sharp voice. "I know you feel lost, and you are! But you cannot think like that! What about your sister!"

"What about her?" I asked softly.

"Do you really want her to grow up without her mother, and sister?"

I was silent. There was a breathy sigh from the other side and Kat moaned into the phone.

"Look at it this way. So you've lost hope in your existence, big bloody deal. If you can't hope for your own future, hope for hers." I blinked, and stared in disbelief at the phone.

"…hope?"

"You're in Pandora's box right now Meg. Surrounded by nothing but darkness, plague, disease, pain, famine, all the bad things. Find that which gives you hope Meg. Find the hope that allowed mankind to live on despite all of the things Pandora released. If you can't hope for your own future, hope for hers, hope to see hers through and see how it progresses, make her future worth living, make that your future. That's what your mother did… for you." Kat said softly. I was silent, I couldn't believe what was being said to me, was… it that simple? There was a sudden yell on the other side and I paused in my thinking to listen.

"H-hold on Dain! For crying out loud, I'm on the phone- can't it wait? Argh, Meg, I'm sorry, I have to go. My brother is expecting a phone call from his stupid girlfriend. … think about what I said okay? See you Meg." And she hung up.

Of course, she didn't realize, that I had already hung up myself.

* * *

_I went to my sister's cradle after that._

_There she slept, looking as unhappy as I felt. The smile was gone from her lips, her eyes were scrunched together and she looked absolutely miserable._

"_Erlana…" I murmured, running my fingers over her delicate cheeks, then I stared at the knife in my hands._

_I could kill her now. Then kill myself after, we would be forever together in heaven, or maybe I would go to hell for killing an innocent baby. Then I stopped._

_Pandora's box._

_Find the hope, someone you want to live on, someone you want to be with for the rest of your life so that you can see their future through, or be with until you know their future is secure._

_To guide them forever._

_I stared at Erin._

_And smiled._

"_Alright. Don't make me regret this baby." I whispered gently. "I'll place it on you. You're my reason to live now. You're my hope." And I kissed her gently on the brow, and began to sing a soft lullaby, one my mother always sang for me._

_The creased brow had vanished, the soft, angelic smile was back on her lips and I smiled, as I too fell into slumber._

* * *

When a butler came in the morning to check the nursery, he found to his astonishment, a girl sleeping at the foot of the cradle, curled up and smiling. Shaking his head, he had enough sense to drag a blanket over her prone form, before quietly stepping out again, though not before noticing something in the garbage can.

Tip toeing over, he found to his curiosity, a knife in the folds of diapers and napkins.

'I'll have someone change this immediately.' He thought frowning and picked up the wastebasket and trudged out of the rooms, holding his breath.

* * *

_It was selfish yes, but I needed it. Erin became my life, I lived for her, to protect her. She became my hope._

_In due time, my dependency on her lessened, and vice versa, she began to depend on me less as well, as she matured from a baby, into child._

_And although Kat and Akkiko became a part of my hope as well, I still search._

_I hate to say it to belittle any of them, but they are not the true hope for me._

_They are strands of light which leads me to the true hope, and I know I'll find it, if I just cling to those strands of hope, and life, and keep searching, keep hoping._

* * *

My eyes were red, my cheeks pinched, I knew I looked like something from the swamp, but I couldn't care.

I only wanted to find my reason to live on.

Ray sat to my side, as did Max to my other, neither looked like they wanted to talk, not that I could blame them.

I clutched my launcher with firm hands, my jaw was set. I was ready, all of them, were suffering.

All of my reasons for living, were suffering.

When did I get so many?

I wanted to live for Kat, for Akkiko, for Ray, Max, Kai and Kenny, for Tyson so much, but more importantly, I wanted to live on for me, because I knew that if I didn't, they would suffer.

Is that selfish?

Or selfless?

I can't tell anymore.

I'm not sure I even care.

As the sound of feet reached my ears, I glanced up just in time to see Kat walk through the door, Oliver by her side, Kai behind her.

When Kat glanced at me, I gave her a firm nod, I was ready. I wanted to find Tyson, and Tala, and Enrique, for my sisters. Then we could all go home. When Kat looked at Akkiko, I managed a chance to lock eyes with Kai, and smiled. He blinked, before giving me a small upwards quirk of his lips.

I could live with that. When did my life get to be so big?

So, complicated?

Kai, a captain of the team, and an unexpected voice of reason and support, it had taken quite a few layers of chipping, but I had done it, I had exposed the human deep inside. Ray, friendly and a quiet support, could I always depend on him? I wasn't sure, but for the time being, I knew I wanted him by my side more than ever, he was nothing less of a brother to me now. Max, cheerful, optimistic, a good contrast to mine, which seemed to be both pessimistic and optimistic. He was always there to cheer up, selfless and caring, he was the little brother I never had, and would never have. Kenny, a brainiac who fell under pressure until you really needed his help, there was no one more responsible, no one who could be more concerned about you than him.

My friends, my allies, my hope.

It only became too obvious, too apparent that through Kat and Akkiko, that the Demolition boys and the Majestics had become something I would live for as well, after all, they were my sisters' hopes. And as I turned again to look at Kat, Akkiko did the same, and we all nodded. Hope, we all knew Pandora's story, and how it was projected onto our own lives, what we believed in. I smiled as Kat began to speak, and as the boys looked on in confusion, Kat knew, I knew, and Akkiko knew what we all meant, and more importantly, what we had to do.

"Let's go." Kat began, and I shared a knowing glance with Akkiko.

"Let's find the rest of our family." Akkiko smiled, nodded, and stood.

"Find our family . . . bring back our light." She stated with a calm grin. I stood as well, and smiled as Tyson's launcher and blade bounced off my hip from it's holder.

"Bring back our light, restore our hope." I whispered, nodding. Kat, Akkiko and I all stared at each other with confidence, and a feeling returned, one we hadn't felt in years.

My objective was clear now, I had fulfilled raising my sister, now it was time to fulfill the other purpose I had been born to do.

_I'm sorry Erlana, I did my part and lived for you, now I'll finish the other purpose in my life, and live for me. I'm coming Tyson._

Disclaimer: I own plot and OCs, everything else belongs to someone else.

Blah, blah, blah. T.T


	19. Return to Uujou

Chapter 16

The group finds the bitbeasts.

Chapter 17

The group challenges the bitbeasts.

Chapter 18

The group loses.

Chapter 19

Suddenly a meteor strikes the Earth and everyone dies. The end.

Akkiko: There ya go Kat! Your 4 chapters:D

Kat: . . . . The Dark-Angel is not amused.

Akkiko: Oh?

Kat: The Dark-Angel being me.

Akkiko: Eh hehehehe . . .

Kat: The Dark-Angel now proceeds to chase the authoress with an axe.

Akkiko: ACK!

Author's notes: Wondering what that's about? In basic summary, for every chapter Kat updates of her IY fic Okaerie Nasai, I have to update a chapter of Beyblade . . . unfortunately I hit a bit of a rut on inspiration and am now 4 chapters behind. XP

Chapter 16

There was an eerie silence in the forest, one that made Kai's nerves grate on the very edge of insanity. Why was it so damn quiet? There should have been some sort of noise in the very least! The trail Razor and the wolves had followed had ended off about an hour ago, and from there it was pure instinct and basic tracking skills to find their lost teammates.

In a way Kai was glad to have it down to this, life became simplistic in the nature of survival, the very root of mans' instinct. It made him feel alive to depend only on his wits. But unfortunately the long hours of trekking and built up frustration had done very little to ease his nerves, and as a result, he was rather snappish.

"Kai…" Max began hesitantly when Kai snapped back at him.

"What." With a flinch, the American cowered beneath his captain's death glare and gulped.

"N-nothing."

"Jeez, who shoved a spork up your ass?" Johnny asked with a low whistle. Yet before Oliver even had a chance to berate the Highlander about his language, Johnny found himself promptly shoved into a tree, face first, and without a single glance back, the slate-haired teen had moved on.

"Something tells me, it would be best if you guys shut up." Akkiko offered dully as she grabbed the back of Johnny's collar and yanked him forward as they walked past the tree.

"Brilliant observation there Akkiko." Meg muttered with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

"I can walk you know." Johnny interrupted with a growl as he yanked himself from Akkiko's grip and plodded on, nose high in the air.

"You know, one of these days I'm just gonna…" Akkiko snarled viciously and made a chopping motion with her hand, right across her nose.

"Yeah, yeah. Cut the tough guy act and let's get go- AKKIKO!" Meg suddenly shrieked and everyone spun around, as if shocked by lightening, their launchers were out and pointed to fire, as their eyes registered the scene.

Akkiko was kneeling on the ground, her breathing harsh, her face white. She released something of a strangle choke and squeezed her eyes shut. Around her Meg and Kat kneeled, their eyes wide with concern.

"Akkiko? Akkiko! What's wrong?" Kat asked quickly, checking her over for any sort of viewable wound.

"…ngh!" Was the only sound she could make as her breathing came out in more choked sounds, her face turning blue from the lack of air.

"She's choking, move!" Oliver reprimanded as he moved forward to help her, Meg nodded fearfully and backed off, before Akkiko shook her head violently, her hand clutching the base of her neck.

"…go!…" She wheezed and began to cough violently, falling to the forest floor, Oliver gaped as he kneeled next to her, his hand automatically moving to check her pulse.

"Akkiko?" He called, his eyes worried. He was about to move onto CPR, when there was suddenly another strangled choking sound behind him, and he whirled his face around to see a stunned Kat, mortification crawled across her face as her expression changed from concern, to fear. Suddenly her hand flew to her chest, and she fell to a knee.

"Uhn…" She got out as she flushed and winced with an invisible pain.

"Kat!" Meg yelled running to her side, kneeling she shook with fear as she checked her sister for wounds. "Kat, Kat what's wrong? Say something!" She pleaded.

"**DOWN!**" Kai suddenly yelled at her as he leveled his gun and Meg shrieked and dropped to the forest floor as he fired above her head. There was a maddening screech as three feathers fell to the forest floor and a blurred shape in the figure of a phoenix fell back with the cry, there was a rush of wind, and suddenly all was still.

Suddenly coughing broke out, Akkiko, on all fours, coughed madly, one hand covering her mouth as blood trickled through her fingers. Kat fell back gasping, her face tight with pain as she gagged.

"K-Kat? Akkiko!" Meg cried glancing at them both.

"Easy, easy." Oliver whispered to Akkiko who continued to cough out blood.

"What, the _hell_ was that?" Ian demanded rushing to Akkiko's side, his expression slightly spooked.

'It was Talon.' Came a quiet voice, and everyone started as Razor suddenly wavered into view, and Kai blinked, surprise he hadn't noticed the wolf had vanished when Akkiko had fallen.

"And where the hell were you?" Johnny demanded angrily.

'… I was cut from my anchor. Interference.' Razor whispered, plodding over to Kat and nudged her as best he could with his nose. It felt like a tickle of wind on her skin and she cracked her eyes open, and her body relaxed some.

"Razor…" She croaked and the wolf lowered his head.

'Forgive me, again I have failed you…' Shaking her head, she slowly managed to return her breathing levels to normal, and even Akkiko had stopped coughing blood, although she was still coughing.

"So what happened?" Max asked worriedly as he glanced around, his hand clenched tightly around his launcher.

"They tried to pull us." Kat whispered, her breath a small croak. "And it couldn't have been a clearer hint, if not a dangerous one. It seems they are impatient for the final battle to begin." She whispered as she sat up with the help of Meg.

"Hint?" The brunette asked confused.

"What do you mean by that?" Ray intervened as he stepped forward, having vanished briefly to secure the perimeter, it seemed, that since Brian and Spencer trailed behind him, they had assisted.

"_Uujou._" Akkiko finally croaked, her voice hoarse. "That stupid bastard, he was telling us where it was by trying to bring us there, and when they try to forcibly pull us from our bodies, it causes pain, because our _souls_ do **not** want to leave." She hissed as she struggled to her feet, managing it only with the help of Oliver. "And that is the last straw, if they had pulled us, the anchor and the anchored would have **_both_** been lost!" She snarled. For a moment, Robert though she was angry because her bitbeast had tried to kill her, before he realized that they were not selfish. No, all of them were angry, because of the harm indicated to the other two, and for that moment, realized at last, the true meaning of the words spoken that morning.

Family.

Light.

And hope.

"Well than, how shall we go about extracting due punishment for this crime?" He suddenly asked, stepping forward.

"Robert?" Johnny hissed, staring at his captain confused, the youth however, paid him no attention, his gaze was locked firmly with Kat's, and she stiffened, before realizing he understood, and smiled.

"Simple. Let's go, we know where the others are now." She declared, with a meaningful glance at Razor.

'My apologies for my oversight… I should have known.' He whispered, his head bowed and Kat shook her head.

"We all oversaw it. Ready, Akkiko? Meg?" She asked turning to the two. Meg, thrust her arms forward, before holding them up to the skies and glancing up, smiled. A ball of ice blue light suddenly ignited between the two palms and spiraled around her, growing in size, before it suddenly sped up, and burst into Talon, who settled to the ground, his wings ruffling, before they folded.

'I am ready.' His mind blared fully into the minds of the others. Glancing at Akkiko, Meg and Kat smiled as she held her arms out, and closed her eyes.

A sudden wellspring of darkness, violet and inky in color spread into life beneath her feet, her shadow grew to envelope her radius, and Oliver and Ian quickly stepped back as the shadow lifted from the floor, and grew into life, the darkness suddenly spread two limb like projections, and the shadow dripped from them like ink to the floor, and as the darkness slipped away from the creature, the dragon flared its wings and took a single step forward, his eyes glinting with the prospect of a challenge.

"Ready." Both Falcon and Akkiko whispered. Kat smiled.

"All of you, take a hold of one of us." She whispered to the gawkers. With a start, they obeyed. Reaching forward, Ian, Spencer and Brian grasped one of Akkiko's hands, or shoulders. Likewise went with Meg, as Kai, Max, Kenny and Ray grabbed a-hold of her. Robert, Johnny and Oliver obeyed with Kat, and all three of them smiled as Razor threw back his head to released a howl. Talon and Falcon flared their wings, creating something of a circle around the group as they too threw back their heads and released a savage cry. And then they heard it, a cold voice, resembling Razor's, but much colder, and much more cruel, and intent on bloodlust.

**_Very well. Let us all join together._** And with surprise, a vision flashed before all their eyes, of a high mountainous peak, and on it lay three bodies.

Tyson, Enrique and Tala.

_**To Uujou!**_

And their vision blackened out.

* * *

"Mr. Dickinson, we have the latest report." A calm voice declared softly behind the man who stood in front of the large window, overlooking the city of Tokyo.

"Oh? Lets hear it shall we." The senior said calmly as he turned and smiled rather chipperly at the youth dressed in heavy gear, a cross of slate colored and navy blue hair poking out from underneath the cap.

"All individuals have proceeded to what is assumed, the final battle. Their bodies have all fallen unconscious."

"Ah, very good. Send in the pickup teams, it wouldn't do for them to have hypothermia, would it?" Mr. Dickinson said cheerfully as he took a seat in his chair and leaned his cane on the desk. Lifting his head slightly to reveal previously obscured eyes, the young man's obsidian eyes narrowed with doubt.

"Are you sure this is wise? If they fail, they'll…"

"I know, I know. But I'm certain they won't. I have a great deal of faith, after all, those three are the _tamers_. Paired with those teams, the best of their leagues, I'm certain they will triumph." He said calmly.

"… and if they don't?" He asked softly, his eyes narrowing even further into cold slits.

"… we'll cross that bridge if it comes to that. I understand your anger, but if I didn't interfere, those three girls would have died long ago, whether from depression, or own suicidal attempts, they would not be here today."

"And you sending them the three untamed bitbeasts solves that how?" The young male asked dimly as he lowered the papers. Mr. Dickinson looked genuinely surprised at that question.

"Why, you should know best of all! Those who live to tame a wild bitbeast become the greatest of bladers in history! It is unfortunate that by the time Tyson, Max, Ray and Kai received their bits, their spirits had already received some method of taming, but these girls, they manage to fight with these spirits at such a young age, and untamed! Once someone has tamed a bitbeast, even death will have a hard time convincing that tamer to join its ranks." Mr. Dickinson said cheerfully as he picked up a picture from the desktop and stared at it fondly.

For a moment the young man stayed silent, before he sighed and spun on his heel, heading for the door.

"Very well, I'll trust you on this. But Mr. Dickinson, I'm warning you…" Jin said as he glanced over his shoulder once as his hand opened the door. "If my little brother dies, I will not stop to extract revenge from you." And with that, he shut the door. Mr. Dickinson sighed and replaced the photo on the desk, it showed himself shaking hands with a single man.

One infamous Daniel Viyolan

"_Excuse me, Dr. Viyolan?" 4 years in the past, a rather cheery Mr. Dickinson approached the man, as soon as he had finished his seminar._

"_Hm?" The man looked up, his face bright, though a little haggard from stress. _

"_My name is Mr. Dickinson, I'm the head of the BBA, and just wondered if I could invite you out to some lunch? I just listened to your lecture, and must admit you strike me as a man of great genius!" He explained with a polite smile. For a moment Daniel paused, before nodding._

"_Well if you can waste time to be so polite, I can certainly spare some of my own time to meet you, besides, I'm starving, where shall we go?"_

_

* * *

_

_With the finished plates of pasta being taken away, the two businessmen ordered a cup of coffee and settled in for a comfortable talk._

"_So doctor, have you a family?" Mr. Dickinson asked with a smile as he sipped his cup. Daniel shook his head and returned the grin._

"_Feel free to call me Daniel, and no I don't. I have a wife, but we think it would be unfair of us to have a child now, since neither of us have any time…" He replied, his face going slightly dark. "It wouldn't be fair at all…" Mr. Dickinson blinked, concern and interest obvious in his eyes, before he set his cup down._

"_I'm sorry, but you speak as if you know of someone who has suffered a family too busy for them." He said cautiously, praying that he wouldn't offend the doctor. Daniel blinked and looked up, before smiling._

"_I do. And I hate to seem like I'm bragging… but I am." He said fishing out his wallet and pulling a picture from the depths._

"_Here. I call her my 'little sister'. Unbelievably smart and she turns eleven in 2 weeks, and I want to so badly be there… but dammit all, I have an operation on that date and if I don't do it, the boy might die, and I couldn't schedule the operation any earlier, the timing is critical…" Dan said with disconcertion. "I feel so horrible, I know it's none of my business, but her father, another rather well known surgeon doctor, nice as he is, he puts his job in front of his family, and that includes her. His wife is no better, they're so dedicated to their jobs, they forget about their children at home, he doesn't even remember he has kids sometimes! I only dread to think how well their son, Dain must be fairing, but he at least had some parental love, their daughter has had none." He raged furiously, and held his head in his hands, painting a look of desperation, so miserable did he look that Mr. Dickinson couldn't help but feel sympathy for him as he glanced the picture over. Four people occupied the picture, Daniel himself, a famous actress whose name he couldn't quite place, a woman in her late twenties, who held a rather cheerful young girl, but the depths in her eyes spoke volumes of pain and loneliness. It was those eyes that struck him surprised._

"_And her friends are no better off from the sounds of it. All three are from rich families, but all abused in some manner. Whether verbally, mentally, through fists, or just plain ignorance." He muttered. "And I can't stay by my little sister's side either, her parents will restrain me too easily for that. I just wish… I could give her a friend, hell I want to give them all friends. Ones that are strong enough for them to lean on, one that would understand them, one that will never leave their sides!" Daniel finally whispered, before he sighed and shook his head._

"_I'm sorry, I shouldn't be dumping this all on you, I've just barely met you and I'm dumping my troubles on your shoulders." He said with a small shake of his head in apology, and Mr. Dickinson, who already felt as if he and Daniel were close friends, smiled._

"_There is no need for apology. You said she turns eleven in two weeks?" He asked, hoping to verify some information. Dan nodded with a closed expression as he took the picture back and slid it into the folds of his wallet. It was there, that Mr. Dickinson made plans, plans to investigate this child, her friends, and to see if he could kill two birds with one stone, as the phrase went, and ease six souls at once._

Smiling, he stood and went to the window again, to reassure himself that this was the right plan.

'Be strong, all of you!' He thought with a twinge of worry.

* * *

When Enrique opened his eyes again, he immediately knew something was wrong.

One, it was pitch black, including the ground he laid on, yet somehow everything was acute in his vision.

Two, he was no longer cold, which had nothing compared to the oddity of number three.

Three, he didn't hurt. Anywhere. Sitting bolt upright, he was surprised to find his arm in perfect working condition, and his ribcage didn't feel bruised at all. Staring in wonder, he checked his side and stared at Tyson.

At least, he _thought_ it was Tyson.

What he stared at was a young man, with jagged silken locks of navy blue hair, his face was covered in a sapphire gilded visor that ended off in sharp tips above his ears, and his body was covered in similar armor that surrounded his upper torso. Greaves of emerald blue covered his feet, while shin and thigh guards covered his legs, a sword decorated his left side. And on the side of Tyson.

… he paused, gaping openly.

Black leather pants that hugged closely to the skin decorated his bottom half, and ended in scale-covered boots with black strap up belts. The upper chest was cloaked in similar material to the pants and ended only in a pair of pure white gloves with gilded gold into their weave, ruby emerald jewels embedded into the center of the gold embroidery. With two belt straps hooked into a ring sewn into the shoulder fabric, it connected a square of leather which wrapped around his chest, his other arm, and ended in the ring again. A strap of a belt hung it from the other shoulder, as a circlet of gold banded his forehead, and elevated crimson strands of golden hair while a long metal shaft lay to his side, tipped with a blade of wicked sharpness.

Tala, dear god, what the hell?

And then he noticed himself. Shin high boots with gold embroidery ended where crimson trousers continued up to his waist and ended in a belt engraved with jewels, and hanging from them were two plates of medieval make that covered his outer thigh. Chainmail was overlapped with a breast plate and his arms bore nothing but a pair of thick hided gloves, similar to the fabric of Tala's boots. The collar of his chainmail reached up to cover his throat, and he felt the weight of a helm on his head, pulling it off gingerly, he gaped openly as he realized it was the style of the Romans, complete with the fan of mohawk like hair. Reaching to his side, sure enough he found a sword, sheathed to his belt.

"Where…?"

_Be quiet._ A voice broke in and Enrique swiveled his head to come into contact with the predatory eyes of Razor and he gaped.

"No, where are we?" He demanded angrily as he got to his feet.

_None of your concern, do not worry, they will be here shortly. _Another voice declared, and Enrique glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see Falcon who sat there calmly, his tail flicking back and forth.

"What do you mean?" He demanded, but was cut off when there was a moan and a stirring from Tyson who cracked open his eyes, blinked and sat up, his eyes widened as he took in his own appearance, then Enrique's, then Tala's, and finally their location. Opening his mouth, he was about to voice a question when he suddenly thought better of it and shut his mouth.

"This is…" Tala suddenly whispered opening his eyes, they widened a little with surprise, before they returned to their closed expression and he stood, seemingly with no problems whatsoever.

"Enrique, what the hell is going o-?" Tyson began to asked, before there was a sudden bang of light as it flared from in front of them. Swirls of the light curled around the area, and centered into the ball of light, before it slowly dissipated, and allowed all six of them, Tala, Enrique, Tyson, Falcon, Talon and Razor a clear view of who it was.

"Oh my god." Enrique got out as his vision adjusted to what he _assumed_ were his friends.

The Majestics' clothes had been replaced with armor similar to Enrique's, with only differentiation in crests, color, types and weapons.

"What the-?" Johnny got out as he glanced at himself. Tyson himself was having similar issues. Ray wore something of a well fitted green tunic that went down to his knees and was synched tightly with a red sash embroided with gold edgings. His pants were loose and made for easy movements, and bandages wrapped his ankles and shins, his hands and arms up to his elbows. They also pulled his hair up as they wrapped around his forehead, and left the ends to fall back to the Earth as the dangled from a knot. The rest of his hair had been braided. Kai was dressed in almost pure black like Tala, with only red gloves to decorate his hands, and similar crimson shin guards on his feet, his trademark white scarf was still securely wrapped around his neck and blades curved away from the armor on his arms. He wore a headband that ended in feather like projections above his ears.

Max was the bearer of armor awashed in white and emerald green. He wore greaves, thick shin and leg guards adjoined at the knees with more metal and well oiled joints, and heavy gauntlets covered his hands, a shield secured on one arm. His arms were protected with thick chainmail and his helm would protect his entire face, complete with grated visor. Enrique couldn't believe that Max could actually move, but he did, and with ease it seemed. The Demolition boys somehow retained something of their normal selves. Ian reminded the Italian of a dwarf, the way his hands were covered in thick gloves of leather, and military like black boots, his body clothed in chainmail with a huge ax on his backside.

Spencer was something of a surprise, it was as if he had just stepped afresh from the feudal age of Japan. Samurai armor donned his body, complete with the spiked helm, and great katana held fast to his belt. Brian looked like an assassin, unsurprisingly. A ninja, assassin. His bottom face was obscured beneath a mask while a loose hood was pulled over his head. His hand held a twin blade, but instead of swords, they twisted into darkened blades curled over one another, a weapon of obvious carnage. Around his waist was a large piece of darkened fabric that branched off into two sections with jagged ends which flared about him like an absurd cape.

But all that being said, they had nothing on the girls.

Akkiko, her upper body was covered in what was something of a skin hugging tank top. It started from covering her throat to end at her naval, revealing her midriff. Cloth, with red ribbons streaming out from the top, stretched around her arms, and left her shoulders bare before ending at her fingerless gloves which had somehow become etched with silver circular plates above her knuckles. She wore skin tight pants which ended in shin high boots that were strapped up with leather straps, and were embroided red. Her left leg held a cloth originating from the waist that fell to her ankle, covering that half, and her waist was covered in a silver and red sash, her two blades were held in her hands, and they gleamed silvery crimson yet she possessed no sheaths. Her hair had been braided back with an ebony silken ribbon.

Meg, her upper body was covered in rippled blue cloth that ended at her shoulders and high at her throat. Similar material covered her arms, once again leaving the shoulders bare and were slit in the middle to fall away and reveal her archer's wrist bands. From her waist, she wore a skirt made of black material with a brown belt held together by a metal ring to support it. Boots that ended at her knees revealed quite a bit of thigh before that was hidden by her skirt, and her long hair had been tied back, leaving her bangs in the front. The article which secured her hair was a thick strand of golden sapphire leather which wound around two metal wires that branched off from her hair tie into two golden hoops, and fell through that to the ground. Her bow was held at the ready, without a single quiver of arrows in sight.

But Kat, she, was something else entirely.

She wore a skirt which revealed some thigh, much to Enrique's chagrin. And the middle was covered by a piece of pure silvery white cloth that fell loosely to the ground, both in the front and back. She was barefoot, except for some sandals that strapped up to her shin with golden thread. Bracelets adorned both ankles and sparkled each time she moved, the rings appeared to be made of pure jade, ruby, diamond and other precious stones. Her upper half was covered by similar pure white clothing. that wrapped around her neck and left her shoulders and quite a bit of her collar bone exposed, edged in golden threat, it covered her chest and left her naval bare. Her arms had circular bands around them that secured more cloth to her arms, which wafted behind her when she walked, her bracers flashed brightly in the light, and they seemed to glow as she strided forward, her spear seemed to have lengthened, and the blade had been transformed into a trident. She looked like a long forgotten goddess.

"What is this?" Robert whispered in awe.

"**_Uujou."_** 6 voices declared. Akkiko, Kat, Meg and their bitbeasts declared.

"Where true forms are revealed. Well done Falcon, you threw me off when you said the _uujou_ of this island." Akkiko explained with a glare.

"Uujou, is not one place, but all. It is the haven present in every place, every land, every heart, every soul." Meg explained, her eyes glinting with hatred.

"And… it is where all truths lie, and where no falsities, are allowed." Kat finally whispered, her eyes cold, and strangely empty of emotion.

"Hand them over Razor." She whispered, holding out a single hand, the one which did not hold the trident. Her bitbeast sneered.

_We have waited far too long to simply just give up now._

'You're arrogance will be the death of you.' Kat's Razor, the lighter version growled in reply.

_Quite, pawn._ The negative side of Falcon hissed, baring his fangs.

"Enough!" Akkiko broke in. "Give them back! Or I…" She raised her swords. "will kill you." She finished, venom in her voice. Tyson seeing ample opportunity, attempted to signal to the others to sneak away, but stopped when he realized, around his ankles were circlets of silver metal, and they were chained, chains which drifted away in the darkness. When he tried to move his feet, he found to his awe, he couldn't. With a shake of his head, Tala signaled he could no more escape than Enrique.

'Dammit.' Tyson thought with a furious snarl. Falcon gave a roaring laugh and stared at Akkiko with obvious amusement.

_Kill me?_ It asked incredulously, and suddenly, darkness melted over it's form, and it shrank. Kai suddenly had a very bad feeling creep over him, as the shape changed into a human.

"Can you kill me Kimiko?" A familiar voice wafted out from the now changed form as the darkness fell away. Akkiko blinked, and as she registered the new form, her face turning white as her eyes widened and she took a step back, stumbling as she did so and dropping her swords. The human-turned bitbeast held out one hand and smiled coldly, ruthlessness in his eyes as he did so.

"Can you kill your greatest fear? The man who represents everything dark in you? The things you have always wanted to hide from your sisters? Your friends? Your _life?_" He hissed with a smile. "If you can, come, kill me." He said taking a step forward. Akkiko let out a strangled choke and froze on the spot, her heart hammering with fear inside her chest. He continued to smile at her, his lips curled with malice, his eyes freezing her with that intensity, with that same determination of doing anything it took to achieve his goal.

"What's wrong Kimiko?" That snide voice asked softly. "Are you afraid? Of being used again? Of being toyed with, of having your heart broken? Of letting Katherine and Magoto know of how easily to betrayed them for me?"

"Falcon stop it!" Meg suddenly yelled, not understanding, but noticing that Akkiko was close to going into shock. He laughed cruelly and sneered at her and Kat, a smile that sent chills down their backsides.

"What are you talking about? My name isn't Falcon, I am Kimiko's husband to be. She will tell you my name." He said glancing at Akkiko who trembled with terror.

She was staring at Evan.

Disclaimer: I own OCs, and the plot.

Woo! We near the end of this story!


	20. They all fall down

Chapter 17

Never, in a million years could she remember having ever been this frightened.

How could that be? Even when she had met Evan in real life, faced him through her tears, he had never been as frightening as now.

So how…?

Of course.

It was this place's fault, she reasoned. Uujou, where the truth was all ruling. Where manifestations of your worst fear destroyed all hindering emotions to the single current of fear, courage was no longer existent, determination and hope were gone.

It was like fear was a single thread, and every thread overlying it was another emotion.

In Uujou, all overlying threads had been stripped away to reveal the true thread in all its terrifying glory.

There she lay on the ground, her limbs paralyzed, her eyes wide with fright, her skin paler than possible.

She could have sworn she heard voices… but they were muggy, blurred, she couldn't even make out the imaged faces of those who spoke.

All she could hear as the other voices faded away, was **his** voice, **his** breathing, and **his** words.

"Come here, Kimiko." Evan hissed, as he reached out one hand and offered it to her. Hysterical laughter bubbled to Akkiko's lips, threatening to burst forward. This was ridiculously like some game scenario, something told her that if she were to take his hand, she'd probably go all evil and stuff.

That was a nice thought. Never have to worry about protecting anyone.

Most villains were solo… she could do what she wanted, never have to care what anyone thought of her.

Wait—

Shaking her head, she glared spitefully at Evan, or was it Falcon?

Dammit…

"Stay out of my head." She hissed, baring canine tooth for good measure. Evan, no, Falcon, laughed miraculously.

"What do you mean Kimiko? Are those voices still haunting you?" He teased, his voice pleasantly amused.

She froze.

_They kept telling her she was traumatized, but it was okay. It was normal for young children to attempt suicide._

_She told them if they didn't leave her alone, she would sick Falcon on them._

_They told her Falcon didn't exist._

_She said he did. He was always with her. Always._

_They called her crazy._

_Called her it so much, she began to think it was true._

_Maybe that's when the voices… had begun._

"S-shut up! Stop fucking with my damn mind!" She screamed at him, her hand scrambling over the hard surface they stood upon, reaching for the blade she had dropped.

"Such language, so inappropriate for a young maiden of your class." Falcon…—Evan? —chuckled humorously and he gently crossed the distance between them.

"It is alright, Kimiko. You're scared, aren't you?"

"I-I'm not-! J-just shut the hell up!" Smiling, he bent down beside her and took her face into his two hands, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"Of course you are, always scared, always hidden behind layers, upon layers, of masks. Scared of angering your parents. Scared of losing your sisters. Scared of betraying Ryan once more. Scared now, of losing Tala… scared, you're so scared, a coward. Did you think yourself a hero?" He teased, his voice low and husky. "Heroes don't run, heroes are not scared. Heroes, do not betray their allies. Don't you see Kimiko?" He told her with an innocent smile. "You were always a villain. Always. Come with me, it is not so bad… to be, evil, as you call it. Why not try it, you may like it. You'll never be frightened again." He whispered standing and releasing her face as he did so.

Akkiko stared up at him, her eyes hollow with desperation.

…Evan, offered his hand to her, a pale, and slender hand that looked innocent enough. Releasing the death grip she held on the hilt of her blade, she reached for his hand…

Hesitated…

Then grabbed it.

* * *

"Akkiko! Akkiko answer me, for god's sake, please answer me!" Meg screamed as she grasped the young girl's shoulders, shaking her frantically. The minute Falcon had changed into that boy, Akkiko had trembled endlessly, until she froze.

Completely.

Her body did not move, her chest did not rise and fall with breath, her eyes did not blink, only stared. They were bottomless pits.

The minute Akkiko had changed into this frozen state, Falcon, both good and bad had disappeared, she would have thought that wagered good for their side, but Razor and Talon were grinning, and that set off her alarms.

"What have you done to her?" Kat hissed, her tone laced with detest. "Answer me!"

"If you bastards have hurt her…" Ian snarled moving towards them and hefting his ax over one shoulder, he stepped in front of the fallen girl and glared. Smiling a predator's smile, Razor merely threw back his head and spread his lips in a silent laugh.

_We have done nothing to the mortal girl, if she is strong, she will resist._ The bitbeast said calmly.

_If she is weak, she will fall._ Talon added in, both sounded impeccably smug.

"What do you mean, she will fall?" Tala demanded, his voice icily cold, so much that Brian almost expected frost to issue from his captain's lips. Razor inclined his head, as if to answer, when he paused, and glanced back at Akkiko.

_No need to tell you, you are about to see. A glorious thing, isn't it? When a hero… falls to darkness._ The light side of Razor, who stood next to Kat suddenly froze.

'Kat…' He began, when he suddenly bounded for Meg, his voice screaming in their minds. 'Meg! Get back! Get back now! Both of you!' He screamed with fright at Meg and Ian. Talon, who floated near Meg's head, froze up and rammed her with his body to send her into Ian's vicinity, before sheltering them both in a cover of his wings.

But what Meg had seen before she had been struck, was Akkiko's hand twitch, before clenching, and a darkness seemed to well up between her fingers.

The others, were not so lucky, an explosion rocked the area, knocking the closest ones—the Majestics—cleanly off their feet and barreling into others.

When the haze of darkness that had burst forth from Akkiko's hand had cleared, Talon unfurled his wings, and released a venomous screech that echoed a battle cry.

Razor replied with a howl that set Tyson's body to trembling, so terrible it was.

"W-what-?" Meg coughed, as she straightened and glanced at Akkiko, who was down on all fours, breathing harshly.

"Akkiko!" Kat called and stepped forward, only to be stopped when Razor launched himself into her path, barring her way.

'Do not go near her kit… she is not going to welcome you.' He warned, his eyes fixated on the girl who slowly got to her feet, eyes shut.

And then, appearing from the mist around her, a dark dragon pawed it's way over to her side, it's talons clicking neatly against the hardened floor.

It's black body was menacing, a sight to behold, did dragon slayers feel this very fear in the days of old, when they slew dragons? —thought Oliver. Crimson eyes, deep seeded with intelligence and a lust for bloodshed observed every member of the room with gilded eyes, their depths frightening.

And then Akkiko opened her eyes.

Shock echoed in the room as she peered at the room, her pupils were slitted, and edged in crimson red. Dark black outlined them, and silver edged the black.

Her swords had vanished, and now she held up her index nail, it was long and deadly, with a little flex of her finger, she plunged it into her own hand.

"Akki-!" Meg began when Ian slapped a hand over his mouth, whatever was happening, even _he_ had the sense to leave it be.

Blood welled from the puncture, and with palm facing up, she whispered words and the blood shifted, rising upwards and forming a towering object.

Now Tyson was no expert, but from the amount of blood it took to form whatever was being used… it should have caused her to faint by now.

As the blood solidified, it shaped itself and changed colors, showing for what it truly was.

A twisted, deadly, and a sure weapon of carnage, a double sided sword. Each blade was colored of black, violet and dark blue, shaped in the image of a dragon's wing, Akkiko grabbed the hilt, spun it confidently and turned on the others.

A malicious sneer curled her thin lips.

"Akkiko…" Kat whispered, horrified. "What did… what have they done to you?"

"FUCKERS! BASTARDS! SONS OF BITCHES!" Meg shrieked, throwing every foul oath she knew into their faces.

_Now Magoto…_ Dark Talon whispered, his voice soothing and false in comfort as he took a single step forward with a click of his clawed feet.

And changed.

His shape shifted, his body molded and shrank, Kat and Meg both instinctively looked away, preparing for the worst as they gripped their weapons with white knuckles.

"I thought I taught you better then that…" Came a gentle and comforting voice. Meg froze as realization sunk in.

'Can't be.' Meg thought immediately, her face white as she fought the urge to look. 'Can't be, can't be, can't be, can't be… oh gods no, it can't possibly be!' But she knew it, and lost the battle to keep from peering at the form Talon had taken.

What child forgets the voice of their mother?

"Oh Magoto… it has been so long… I've missed you." Came her mother's voice as she reached out with her arms, bidding Meg to give her a hug.

* * *

Jin was in the medical ward. All three teams, with their accompanying girls had been placed into warm beds with a heart rate monitor, an IV drip and plenty of fluffy pillows, now all they were waiting for, was for them to wake up.

A heart monitor went off. Beeping crazily, all heads in the room swiveled to glance at it, and Jin paled.

Striding as calmly as possible to it, he glared at the nurse who fretted over the child he didn't recognize, a stare that demanded answers.

"I don't understand!" The nursed panicked. "Her pulse has increased drastically, she's sweating like crazy, I just don't-!" And she froze.

So did everyone else.

Because the heart monitor blared a single, long, unbroken sound.

Her heart had stopped.

Jin's eyes immediately fell to the paper white bracelet around the girl's wrist, and moaned aloud.

Kimiko Cimatura. One of the tamers.

The odds just tipped drastically in favor of the ones who would kill his brother.

* * *

"No, no, no, NO!" Kat screamed, standing helplessly over Meg's frozen body, it was happening all over again. Both Talons were gone, all that remained was Razor, the rest of the boys, a whole, and evil Falcon, and a blood lusting Akkiko.

'It wasn't supposed to be like this…' Kat thought fighting tears fiercely.

_I knew it. A romanticist at heart Katherine._ Dark Razor commented smugly _Do you really favor yourselves the hero? You know, no villain really sees themselves as a villain. They justify their actions and reason their behavior. Don't you do the same?_ He asked, his plumed tail whipping back and forth.

"It's like that book I have." Akkiko put in, her voice mercilessly cold, even with amusement lacing its tones. "Banewreaker, _if all that is good thinks you're evil… are you?_" She commented idly and walked with a lithe step towards Razor's side, Falcon in tow.

The delicate step of a dancer.

"You always wanted to be a dancer, didn't you?" Kat asked somberly of the girl. "You scoffed at us, said no and called it too girlish, but you always wanted to, didn't you? You only said that because your parents forbade you to learn, calling it a whorish interest. You were hiding pain. You always do. Meg does too."

Pausing, she sank to her knees and held herself, trembling. "So do I." With eyes of sympathy, Oliver came over and knelt beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, she leaned into him, desperate for something to lean on.  
A high pitched laugh met her declaration.

"I did once!" Akkiko said gleefully with a graceful twirl and jumped to land next to Tala. "But I don't have to hide anymore. I have no pain, and if I did, I don't need to keep it from you so you don't worry." She said jovially, her eyes flaring joy in their mismatched depths. "I'm no hero, why should I sacrifice? I can be selfish, as selfish as I want!"

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" A voice broke in, venomous hissing in their depths.

And everyone, even Razor turned to stare in surprise at the speaker.

Striding forward, his blade gripped with a pale hand, Brian snarled at Akkiko, his lips actually baring a wolfish visage. Akkiko's laughter was gone, replaced with amazement.

"This isn't the girl we met!" He snapped angrily. "This is not the girl who risked her life to save boys who hated her! This isn't the lady who gave up her happiness to protect those she cared about!" He bellowed, taking another step towards her, and ignoring Falcon who took a step forward in reply, his teeth gleaming a warning.

"This isn't the woman who fell in love with our captain!" He continued, his voice never wavering, his anger never faltering. "**That is not the Akkiko who is part of our team!**"

* * *

"He's saying something… but what is it…? I can't understand… it hurts… make it stop hurting." She whined piteously and he immediately moved to hug her, to soothe her worries.

Wrapping lithe arms around her, he smiled emotionlessly.

"Shh…" He whispered in a comforting manner. "Don't worry." Falcon, baring Evan's guise whispered quietly. "He'll stop talking soon enough. Then he'll never hurt us again."

* * *

"G-get back from me. This isn't real, oh gods no this can't be real." Meg whispered, she had long since discarded those blurred forms to be of any use.

She didn't even know who they were.

"Magoto… are you alright?" Her mother inquired, worry marring her face as it had always done when she was young. Her arms were still reached out to embraced Meg. "Come here… I want to make sure you're alright!"

"N-no. Stay back, I'm not… I'm not listening! I'm not!" Meg stammered as she took a single step back, her mind fighting every bodily urge to throw herself into those arms, to smother herself in the scents of lavender and lilacs. The smell of the sandalwood, originating from the fan her mother had always worn at her waist drifted around her, making a pain burst forth in her chest.

"Oh Magoto… don't you see? It's alright! Talon isn't evil, how can he be when he's brought us together again? We'll go home, and be a family!" Her mother cooed, her voice gentle.

"You're… _you're lying_!" Meg screamed defiance, trying to bolt, her instincts curling up inside her. "I can never have my mother back! I can never have that family back again! I _accepted_ that a LONG time ago!" She shrieked, still stumbling back. "G-go away! GO AWAY!" She sobbed, not aware of the tracks of tears that began to stream down her cheeks. Her mother's face took on a saddened image.

"I see… I'm sorry, it was… selfish of me to think I could have you back as my daughter. I should have known you had moved on. I am sorry Magoto…" She whispered, and suddenly her image wavered, vaguely reminded Meg of a television screen in where the static ruins the image. Her mother suddenly appeared panicked.

"Oh no…" She whispered tearfully. "Magoto, I love you, please don't forget! I love you and your sister and your father!"

"W-what's happening?" Meg cried, surprise marring her voice.

"Those children are attacking Talon, they believe it will keep you safe, oh Magoto I wish we could gain back what we had lost, but I have no more time!" Her mother cried, her arms flinging out towards Meg. "I am sorry!"

"N-no… mother no!" Meg screamed, and before her mind could comprehend, she bolted forward, her arms reaching forward as she fell into her mother's embrace, inhaling the scent of sandalwood, lavender and lilacs. "Don't go! I don't care about them! I'll protect you, **and** Talon! I need you!" She cried.

Wrapping her arms about Meg, her mother's lips curved into a knowing smile.

"I need you too, Magoto. As long as you have me, you will need no one else."

* * *

A wave of darkness flew at Brian, and in his surprise, he was flung off his feet and landed on a Johnny, who in vain had tried to madly scramble out of the way.

"Shut up." Akkiko hissed, her gaze venomous. Then she smiled cruelly. "You're ruining my fun."

But Kat did not hesitate as she helped Brian off of Johnny who swore every palpable oath in his vocabulary.

"She faltered. You may not have seen it, but she hesitated, keep trying, keep reaching her, it might work!" She hissed to Brian who nodded, his face red with anger and embarrassment at having been caught off guard.

_Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of poesy…_ Dark Razor suddenly sang melodically. _Hush now, hush now… _And when Kat glanced at him, a shiver ran down her back as Razor smiled triumphantly. _Another falls down._

The air exploded.

Landing on her shaky feet, Kat stumbled forward and fell, the Majestics all barely caught themselves as the ground vibrated from the impact that had exploded to her side. Brian was on his backside again, and the rest of the Demolition boys, including Tala were down on all fours. The Bladebreakers were fairing no better.

"No…" Tyson whispered, his breath full of horror. And Kat agreed, though she were so terrified she could not voice her own words.

Meg, with cruel scars running down her back that dripped freely with blood, though the flesh had long since mended, grinned sadistically. Her bow had turned a darkened black, the arrowheads curved for bone piercing purpose.

Talon, his wings jet black, his eyes a haunted, and poisonous green sparkled with a victorious air, his claws were savage and itched to tear and rip. Spreading ebony black wings, he released a keening cry into the air, that echoed for miles to come, the cry of an animal who scented the victory to a prey.

* * *

As Jin stared with mortification at another heart monitor. His body was frozen, his mind numb with terror.

Doctors and nurses rushed around him, panicked, confused, and trying everything they could to bring the two children back.

Another tamer, gone.

For some reason, instead of logic, instead of reason and the next course of action, all that filled Jin's head was a ridiculous song Tyson had sang repetitively as a very young child.

But he had always remembered why he hated that song, it was the last line.

The last stanza.

_They all fall down._

Disclaimer: I do now own, only plot, OCs and the rest of it.

Ahahaha…

Author's notes: Sorry for the lack of update, my highschool courses are giving me a run for my money, that and my inspiration streak has exploded in the last 3 weeks, I've come up with 6 solid good story ideas that I could write from start to end easily. I wanted to get at least some of it written down before I completely forget.

Now… do I work some more on Beyblade… or do I update Twilight and Okaerie Nasai:o


	21. Bound in Darkness

Chapter 18

This.

Could not.

Be happening.

Tyson, frightened beyond all belief at this turn of events reached out towards Meg, though she was impossibly beyond his touch.

Physically and mentally.

"Meg… oh god no, Meg no…" Kat sobbed her hands coming to her mouth, the tears brimming at her eyes.

Meg blinked once, and her eyes went from their cheerful and lively disposition, to a crimson lined in black, her pupils nearly non-existent. Talon raised its head and gave a wailing keen.

Victory was at hand.

_And now…_ Dark Razor said simply as he got to all four paws.

"You stay the **fuck** away from her!" Enrique bellowed racing for the Bitbeast and ignoring the chains that slowed him down. His hand went to his waist, drawing his sword in a single swift motion and he leapt at the wolf, intent on killing it where it stood.

"Enrique!" Kat shrieked with fear.

The cry registered in his senses.

But only after he had been slammed into the ground and gasped in agony.

"Bad boy…" Akkiko murmured sliding her blade slowly across his neck, barely nicking the skin. From the small beads of crimson that welled up from the very shallow cut, she licked her lips and her eyes narrowed. "Wait your turn…" She said in a soft voice before she withdrew her blade, and suddenly slammed her foot into his gut.

Enrique choked.

"You goddamn-!" Tyson snapped running for her. Before he realized what was happening, he suddenly felt a tug on his feet and tripped face forward into the ground. With a curse he raised himself up on his arms and glared behind him, then gaped.

Tala stood on his chains, shortening them as he glanced at Akkiko, then looked away.

"Tala!" Tyson shrieked. "What the hell are you doing? We have to do something or she'll-!"

"Don't. Hurt her." Tala hissed, switching his gaze from the floor to Tyson's eyes. "I don't care. Don't you dare hurt her."

Tyson couldn't believe this.

"Are you fucking serious?" He hissed. Tala shrugged and glanced away, removing his feet from the chains.

"We have another problem anyway." He murmured glancing towards the others. Tyson blinked, uncomprehending, and followed his gaze.

"Oh no." Razor, both good and dark were gone.

And Kat was frozen, not replying to Oliver as he shook her roughly, his pleading voice carrying across the space.

As Akkiko walked back to Falcon who nuzzled her proudly with his mouth, Enrique sat up, wincing as the pain slowly receded into horror.

"Oh no… c'mon baby… I know you can fight it…" He whispered.

* * *

Kat stared… at Kat. Or at least, it looked like her, but the tamer knew better.

"Razor, stop playing this charade." She hissed, her expression calm her eyes expressionless.

Razor, as Kat, smiled.

"Tell me, how is the loneliness coming along?" Her own voice asked her, and her eyes narrowed, the briefest moment of emotion flickering across her face, before her face calmly went blank again.

"I dunno." She said smirking and shrugged. "You tell me."

Razor chuckled.

"Let's find out together." And he lowered his gaze right onto hers.

Time froze, as did Kat, her world suddenly went black and agony crawled up from the pits of her stomach to grasp her with painfully sharp claws.

And then he released her.

She fell to her knees, gasping, tears streaking her cheeks, before she glanced up, her eyes resilient.

"You, won't beat me." She said softly between gasps, the pain barely receding. Then she smirked.

"You would have been better off using this on Akkiko, **I'm** the one who can fight against mental pain." Kat hissed standing. "You won't break me Razor." She said defiantly.

Razor stood there, simply staring at her from her own eyes.

"Is this how you changed the others? Confusing them with mental pain? I bet that's it isn't it? Well tough luck for you… the only people who are close to me, I know well enough they would never turn on me." She said simply and her expression became triumphant. Slowly, a grin formed on Razor's lips.

"Akkiko, Meg, Enrique, The Majestics, they would never turn on me, I know that, so don't even bother, and let me kick your ass." She snapped hefting her spear and sliding her feet back slightly, setting herself for battle.

"… what makes you think mental pain is the only way to turn you?" Kat froze.

Then suddenly was slammed in the gut and swept backwards by a gale. Skidding back, she only stopped when she slammed her spear into the ground halting her movements against the hurricane.

"Shit…" She hissed slowly climbing to her feet, before Razor was suddenly next to her.

"Too late." Was all his lips mouthed, before he burst into a tornado, her trapped in the center. As air was sucked from the center, she glanced around, wildly her hair whipped about her face and she did her best to hold her breath, looking for a weak spot.

Then her eyes fell onto Razor who stood outside the wind barrier, and his eyes locked with hers.

Before she could react, she fell to the floor in agony, the wind whistling around her.

She wasn't sure how long it stayed like that, her on the floor, running out of breath, Razor pinning her with his stare, trapping her in the agony of the loneliness.

It wasn't until she realized her eyes were slipping shut that she panicked, but couldn't move.

'Enrique…' Kat thought before she slipped from consciousness.

* * *

Oliver panicked.

"She's going cold!" He cried, frustrated to tears as he held his ear over Kat's blue lips and heard a very, very faint whistle of breath.

Enrique watched on, helplessly, Tyson could only stare as Meg, stood next to Akkiko, and both glanced at each other with a smirk of triumph.

It was then he noticed Tala. Holding his spear calmly, he was suddenly behind Falcon before anyone knew what was going on.

Falcon shrieked as the blade pierced his soft underbelly, and Tala danced back before the dragon could swipe him with his paw.

Immediately Meg, Talon and Akkiko turned to the disturbance and Akkiko cried out, rushing to her dragon's side, she stood there, worriedly.

Meg and Talon stayed still.

That was odd, Tyson thought. Why weren't they attacking him?

**_YOU_**. Falcon's furious voice raged through their minds as he turned on Tala who stood steady, spear still in his hands, dripping black ink from the blade.

"Let her go." Tala said simply as he dodged Falcon's attack by skipping backwards, allowing his tail to harmlessly sail past him. Falcon snarled.

_Kit, KILL HIM._ He hissed, and Akkiko stepped forward, blades at the ready. But Tala smiled, he saw the hesitation in her eyes, brief enough that he knew she was still in there.

"Biiiiig mistake…" She said in a sing song voice as she pranced towards him, balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to strike. Tala smirked.

"My biggest mistake was falling in love with a girl with problems like you, after this is over, don't ever tell me I didn't work hard for you or I swear to god I'll drown you in a river." He muttered as he circled her. Akkiko smiled prettily at him as she dove into the fray, her swords cleaving the air before her in a macabre dance.

"You assume you'll live after this?" She asked laughing.

Tala swerved to avoid the attack, then slammed the dull end of his spear into her neck, knocking her unconscious, and as Falcon gave a shriek and disappeared into black mist, he smirked.

"Yeah, I think I will. You're nowhere near as graceful as the original." He commented.

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she had been stuck in this vortex, maybe two minutes.

It felt like an eternity as she realized she was awake again. Razor stood over her, his eyes crimson, his fur midnight black, then she glanced at her hand.

Her clothing had turned dark, she didn't have to look to know her eyes would be red and freakishly outlined by black.

She felt so… clear. Her mind empty of anything, absolute freedom.

It was difficult to describe this terrifying clarity, this feeling of being unbound.

She stood, her face registered the horror on Oliver, Robert and Johnny's expressions, the look of lost hope on the Demolition Boys' visages, and the groan of defeat from the Bladebreakers.

And she didn't care.

She suddenly understood why Akkiko had danced her way to the other side, she felt a little lively herself, but she simply walked over to Meg, glanced at the unconscious Akkiko, stared feeling a very remote pang of concern, before brushing it away.

"Welcome to our side." Meg said grinning. Kat smiled in reply.

"What happened to Akkiko?" She asked mildly as Razor plodded over.

"Her boyfriend knocked her out." Meg said simply, some part in the back of Kat's mind registered Meg would have normally been outraged by this. Not that she was surprised, if she felt as free as Kat, it was normal to be mildly amused.

"That's an unhealthy relationship." Kat said suddenly giggling at the thought for no reason.

"Maybe she should kill him." Meg offered sniggering as well.

"Maybe we should do it for her." Kat suddenly said, malicious.

"I like that idea, besides, she's unconscious." Meg replied. And it was decided.

Meg, Kat, Talon and Razor turned as one on Tala who gritted his teeth and leveled his spear.

"Try it." He hissed.

"What he said." Ian commented as he suddenly stood in front of the two Tamers, Brian by his side, Spencer behind.

"Like we're gonna stand by and let all the action slip out of our hands." Johnny snapped as he stood by Enrique, weapon leveled at Kat's face. "You disappoint me girl, I would've thought you'd have put up more of a fight."

"Johnny, hush!" Oliver hissed at him. The Scot sighed, rolling his eyes.

"This is inexcusable," Robert said calmly. "I assure you, you will pay dearly for what you have done."

"And since those guys are all asses and stole the goods lines…" Tyson said calmly, and simply settled for lifting his sword, Ray held his fists up, Max held up a great sword and Kai held his sword simply.

"We're taking your asses down." He said smirking.

But of course, during all this, we seem to have forgotten a sole individual. (No it's not the author's fault, yes this is part of the plot, let's go on believing this! ;;)

Kenny, hidden beneath his black cloak smiled in triumph.

"Proven helpfully by Tala, never thought I'd say helpfully and Tala in the same sentence…" He muttered as an afterthought. "It seems, that to beat the three girls, you simply have to knock them unconscious!" He said chipperly.

"Wrongo." A voice happily interjected.

Tala blinked, then hissed and fell to his knee as he felt something slice his stomach. Akkiko glanced up at him from her position on the floor. He gaped at her in disbelief.

"That wasn't very nice." She said sneering as she wrenched her blade out of his gut and back flipped onto her feet.

_No, it wasn't._ Falcon's voice commented, and suddenly Tala was thrown off his feet as he was swiped by Falcon's claw, the rest of his team narrowly avoiding the hit as Falcon flew out from the ground to initiate the attack.

Kenny blinked, stunned, then realized what Dizzi had meant when only weakness got the evil bitbeasts in, and it would be weakness that got them out.

"I propose a challenge." He said stepping up to confront the three, Meg, Kat and Akkiko glanced at him.

Tala, whose wound was rapidly healing, and not being one to question such a turn of events, stood, ignoring the offers of help from his team who gathered around him and straightened, proud.

Robert, at the head of his team glanced at him, then at Kai who stood at the front of his own team.

"Challenge?" Kat echoed, stepping up, Akkiko and Meg falling in step behind her.

"All or nothing. A three on three sudden death match, winner takes all. Loser… obeys the will of the winner." He said calmly.

Tyson, Enrique and Tala gaped at him.

"And the form of competition… the competitors?" Meg asked softly. Kenny took a deep breath and glanced at them, pushing back his hood, revealing clear blue eyes, and a face with an ink black rune etched onto his skin beneath the eye. His hair had parted revealing his face clearly, and he held his laptop in his hands smiling.

"A bey-battle. Kat, Meg and Akkiko versus Enrique, Tyson and Tala." He said firmly.

There was a pregnant pause.

"Done." Akkiko said laughing her eyes vivid with the prospect of a challenge.

And the rest, remembering the last battle, and how badly they had been beaten before, could only think…

_What has Kenny done?_

Disclaimer: I own plot and OCs.

Author's notes: Short chapter, I know, but it was written in my spare, hence a lack of time… hope you enjoyed. :o


	22. It's the End

Chapter 19

_Game over_.

As they unplugged the last IV needle, a the cloth blanket was pulled over Katherine Muller, the final tamer, who too had flatlined. Sitting in front of his brother's bed, his head in his hands, he could only think of his regrets, all the time he could have spent with his brother but never did, all the mean, heartless words the two had thrown back and forth in arguments…

It was then the door opened, and before Jin realized what he was doing, he had Mr. Dickinson by the collar, and being almost a full head taller then him, glared down at him, unaware his eyes were wide and red rimmed, frustrated… and afraid.

"**_YOU_**." Mr. Dickinson stared at him calmly. And that served to push his rage even further. "HOW COULD YOU." Jin hissed, despite the phrasing it was not a question. "They're dead. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE OF THEM." He whispered, his voice eerily cold. "I hope you can't sleep for the rest of your life, because of you, these four teams are all damned to hell. DO YOU HEAR ME?" He snapped, his temper breaking as his hands tightened around Mr. Dickinson's collar. And still the man did nothing but stare at him. "HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?" He demanded. "STAND THERE LIKE NOTHING… LIKE NOTHING'S HAPPENING?"

"Jin…" Mr. Dickinson finally murmured and Jin tensed, here it was, the order to calm down. "If you must, you can strike me."

Silence.

Jin stared, stunned at him, before he realized the eyes of the old man were filled with fear as well.

"I am sorry, I had hoped… I wished… forgive me…" He whispered, in a picture of defeat.

"Mr. Dickinson…" A voice interrupted gently, and both men looked to the door to see a nameless attendant, letting go of his collar, Jin stepped forward.

"What." He said, none too gently, the man winced, but stood strong.

"T-the… the families of… the bladers are here…" Mr. Dickinson sighed.

"Are they all together?"

"Y-yes sir, I mean… the ones that showed up are."

"Pardon?"

"W-well… the families of… the three…" The attendant trailed off, glancing at the three beds side by side, all bodies on their surface covered in a white sheet.

He didn't have to finish that sentence.

* * *

"Our rules run a bit differently…" Kat explained grinning facing their three opponents. 

With the rest of the teams standing back, Tyson, Enrique and Tala stood side by side, facing their adversaries.

"How so?" Tyson demanded, taking a step forward and instigating himself as the leader. Meg, flipping her hair over her shoulder smiled.

"One, our arena is a bit… bigger." She said simply, and immediately the ground around them changed.

White crawled its way up the walls, replacing the endless black with stadium walls, and suddenly, they were standing on pure marble tiles, with four pillars on the side, the square arena was the size of an Olympic pool. Outside of the four pillars, a blizzard seemed to rage.

And where Kat, Meg and Akkiko stood on one end, Tyson, Enrique and Tala stood on the other, Kai, Robert, Ian and the rest suddenly found themselves standing about the arena on a suspended, invisible, platform.

"Well." Max gulped. "Anyone afraid of heights?" One could assume yes from the way Ian huddled next to Spencer, the blond rolled his eyes.

"Two… we like to make things, a little more… real." Kat commented and immediately their three bitbeasts formed behind their respective blader. "So, if you can't summon your bitbeast to material form…"

"Your loss!" Meg threw in laughing.

"And three." Akkiko whispered flipping her blades up right in her hands. "Anything, and everything goes." Crossing her arms in front of her, her blades resting against the underside of her forearms, she glanced up at them, and sneered, her crimson eyes narrowing.

Kat raised her hand above her head, then brought it down with a flourish, a trail of white fog following her hand's path, before it formed a dark, and carnage wreaking blade tipping a black staff.

Twirling her spear once, she held it vertically straight against her body, then gazed straight into Enrique's eyes, her expression smug.

Sliding her hand down the curved and polished stave of her bow, Meg pulled the bow up and an arrow formed in the notch as she pulled the string back, her grin malevolent.

"And finally." Kat said smiling innocently.

"Prepare to lose." All three hissed.

* * *

Jin paced in the hospital ward. Three. The tree tamers, gone, all dead. Finally he threw his hands up in frustration, ran them through his already mussed hair and decided that arguing with parents had to be better then this hollow, bitter silence. 

Stepping through the door and into the room, he was immediately assailed by angry cries and tearful wails.

"What do you _mean_ he's in trouble, and we can't help him!" A fierce looking boy with a mane of wild black hair demanded, Jin instantly recognized him as captain of the White Tigers, Li.

"Precisely that I'm afraid…" Mr. Dickinson said calmly, but Jin could see his tense shoulders and steadily growing redder face.

"How could you do this without my consent?" A blond woman demanded, Jin knew her on sight as well. Judy, supervisor of the American team the All Starz, and Max's mother.

"I am sorry, I had thought-" Mr. Dickinson began when a violent redhead broke in, this Jin realized was Michael.

"You _thought_!"

"You'd better get my home-boy out of that place now!" An old man snarled waving a kendo stick, and Jin winced.

"Grandpa, calm down. You'll kill your heart." Jin said placidly. His firm voice carrying in the room, immediately all noise quieted, and Jin got a good look around. Along with the White Tigers, All Starz, Grandpa, a few men dressed in white suits which he assumed to be butlers to the Majestics, there was really no one else.

Inside, he would never admit, but his heart broke for the three girls.

"All of you listen, a gamble was taken, and it is going badly yes. _HOWEVER_." He continued when Judy opened her mouth. "Your kids are fine, they are in the process of retrieval right now," He lied quickly and Mr. Dickinson glanced at him, then fell silent and instead stared straight ahead. "They are not injured, they are still alive, and for godsake… I can assure you Mr. Dickinson would never let anything happen to them. You shouldn't even be here, the only one the invitations were sent out to are…" He trailed off when he heard muffled noise behind the door and his eyes went into that direction, before the door burst open and a tall, slim but toned young man slammed his knee into the gut of a security guard and walked in, his face paled despite his heavy breaths, and his eyes wild. He spoke once.

"Where is my sister?" He hissed. Jin stared, amazed, as did Mr. Dickinson, shocked that someone had shown up after all.

"Your-?" Mr. D began when the man snarled viciously.

"KATHERINE. KATHERINE MULLER, MY LITTLE SISTER, WHERE IS SHE?" He broke in, his face terrified despite his vicious tone.

"I could ask the same thing." Another voice added, and in stepped another young boy, he was toned and broad shouldered from years of hard work, his storm colored eyes glinted fiercely in the light.

"Where is my lady? Where is Kimiko?" He demanded in a soft voice that promised pain if he didn't get what he wanted. Holding the hand of the newcomer was a small girl, barely into her teen years, but her eyes were resilient.

"I want my oniichan." She muttered and glanced straight at Jin. "Where did you take my sister?"

Jin was silent, then glanced at Mr. Dickinson. The man nodded, once.

"You must be Dain," he addressed the first newcomer. "and Ryan…" He said mildly, already knowing Erlana on sight.

"Where." Dain said calmly. Jin sighed and turned to the door he had come in.

"I guess you'd all better see."

* * *

Dain fell to the floor in shock, his eyes wide, Ryan gripped the rail of the bed, white knuckled, Erin, not understanding held her sister's cold hand, shaking it and calling her name. 

"Oniichan? Meg? Magoto?" Her voice grew higher with each cry, the others, said nothing.

Judy stood at Max's side, but couldn't help but glance at the three girls who were stationed in one part of the room, all their faces sickly pale.

For a moment, Ryan did nothing, then his hands withdrew from the bar, and he glared at Mr. D.

"You promised." He hissed. He said nothing.

"You. Fucking promised me… that she'd be safe." He hissed walking forward. "YOU SAID SHE WOULD BE FINE." Now he grabbed Mr. Dickinson's collar and pulled him onto eye level. Jin moved forward but was stopped by Mr. Dickinson himself as he waved his hand to let the young man know he would deal with this.

"You said this would help her! You told me she would make it through! You said… you promised…" He broke down, tears running down his face. Finally he let go and slumped back against a wall, his expression grief stricken.

"…. You lied." He whispered and sunk to the floor, hands holding his head.

"…. I. Am so sorry." Mr. Dickinson whispered, his eyes on the young man as he held his cane and stood straight, regally. But one of their group wasn't paying attention.

"Bird." Erin said softly glancing over Meg's body. Jin's attention went straight to her, and then he glanced up, his breath catching in his throat.

A phoenix hovered over Meg, perched calmly on a railing of the bed, staring at them with soft black eyes.

_Come._ Talon said quietly and glanced at Kat and Akkiko's bed before flying down to Erin and opening a black portal.

Beside Kat's hand a wolf slowly formed, it nudged Kat's hand once, then glanced at Dain.

_Follow_. He said swiftly and turned away, another portal formed and the wolf padded into it.

_And believe_. Falcon whispered to Ryan as a portal formed around the dragon's feet.

_Of course, the rest of you are free to come as well if you so desire._ Talon said courteously as he glanced at the rest of the group. _As observers._ He added before stepping into portal. Erin, hesitated, then nodded, determined and walked towards it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dain demanded, his voice dead.

Erin glanced at him, then a smirk took her face.

"I'm getting my oniichan back." And she stepped through.

It wasn't long after that the rest followed through their own portal.

**

* * *

**

The battle was well underway, and needless to say the half baked team of Tyson, Enrique and Tala was failing miserably.

"C'mon Chief! Give us some help!" Tyson yelled and winced as his blade was slammed backwards by Meg's, only to be shot into the air by a strike from Akkiko.

"Why are they losing so badly?" Max demanded.

"The bitbeasts are on steroids?" Dizzy offered in a sarcastic tone. "Take a look why don't you?" Kenny squeaked as she brought up a new set of statistics.

"What? What is it?" Johnny demanded and Kenny gulped.

"I knew it, this is bad, very bad, very very-!"

"If I have to shoot you I will." Ian hissed and Kenny sighed, before turning the screen to face them.

"Technically, for some reason in this place, The Mystics' bitbeasts are equivalent with those of Tala, Tyson and Enrique, however…" He trailed off and bit his lip.

"Tell us already!" Max whined and Kenny shifted uncomfortably.

"Kat, Meg and Akkiko have all had experience working as a team, that's why. Tala, Enrique and Tyson are so used to blading on their own terms, that they're trying to do one vs. one. Simply put, if Tyson tries to go after Meg, Kat or Akkiko will help her gang up on him, if Tala or Enrique tries to help, Kat will break their concentration by sliding in front of the attack and luring them away."

"So you're telling me teamwork is the reason they're winning?" Ray asked, his brow furrowed. Why did that sound familiar? When Kenny nodded, Brian's eyes widened.

"The letter." He whispered and all eyes shifted to him and he frowned. "The letter when we first got here, it said we would only get off once they were convinced we had achieved…"

"Teamwork." Kai finished blandly, but despite his tone his eyes were wide.

"Well." Ian said calmly. "That's a little freaky."

"TYSON!" Max yelled running to the railing and hanging on for dear life. "They're beating you as a _team_! Do you understand! A TEAM! THE ONLY WAY TO WIN IS TEAMWORK!" He bellowed as loud as he could.

_**Oh, so they finally understand**._ Razor whispered to his kit and rubbed his head against her idle hand, Kat smiled at him.

"It doesn't matter." Meg said softly. "Those three can never work as a team. They have no connection." She commented. "No common point."

_Not like us, right?_ Akkiko said connecting to the minds of Kat and Meg, then frowned, why was her connection with Kat so muggy?

_Nope._ Meg said happily. Kat said nothing.

"Teamwork?" Enrique demanded, wincing as Kat's blade spun circles around his own, crashing into it from every side.

"Well, we're fucked." Tala said simply as he watched his blade attempt to evade Akkiko's strikes, wincing as she moved too fast for him.

"Hey, I'm willing to try." Tyson snapped and immediately grinned. "Dragoon, evade and go help Wolborg!" Suddenly his blade in a gust of wind spun out of Talon's path and spun at Akkiko's.

Crashing into her blade Dragoon sent Falcon spinning out of control.

"Get her, now!" Tyson called and Tala nodded agreement as both blades surged forward, intent on taking Falcon out before it could stabilize.

Unfortunately, before they could, Razor broke away from Amphilyon and swerved to counter the attack knocking back both Dragoon and Wolborg, the attack sending Razor spinning into the air.

The blade was immediately caught and saved by a gust of wind, the landing eased by Talon and Falcon who circled the blade.

"It's hopeless." Akkiko said smiling, noting the weary looks of all three bladers. "You can't focus, you can't connect."

"You can't be a team. You have no common point."

Tyson gritted his teeth, Tala hissed, but Enrique stared.

"Yes we do." He said blankly. Kat narrowed her eyes.

"Oh really?" She taunted.

"I mean, yeah, we do. If we didn't have a common point, why are we fighting?"

The battlefield froze.

Disbelief and utter amazement became etched onto the faces of the bladders as they stared at each other in astonishment.

"That's it." Robert said amazed.

"Way to go Enrique!" Oliver cried cheering.

"The idiot solved it, well that's embarrassing…" Brian muttered palming his face, then shrugged and smirking. "Oh well."

"We're fighting… because we love them." Tyson said proudly.

"We want to save them." Tala added softly, then smiled, an expression of wonder.

"Uh oh." Akkiko whispered.

"We love the people we're fighting to save." Enrique said giving a quirky grin.

_And nothing will stop us._ Tala thought venomously.

"Nope." Enrique agreed.

Silence.

Tala stared at Enrique, horrified.

_Did you just-?_

"Here what you thought?" Enrique said, staring disbelievingly.

"If he didn't, I sure as hell did." Tyson said vaguely.

"Not good." Meg hissed.

**_You have achieved a common point._ **A voice said in a sagely manner, and Tyson jumped, turning to face his blade, the image of Dragoon flared from the center, depicting in all his glory the great dragon.

**_About time_.** Another voice, this one soft and dangerous hissed and Enrique gaped.

"Dude. Amphilyon just talked to me." He said staring at his bitbeast as it rose from his blade.

**_And it is about time too._** Amphilyon said as it craned it's neck and gave a savage cry.

**_I agree._** Wolborg commented as he stood there calmly, his predatorial eyes watching Razor with a smirk. Tala said nothing, but only stared, shocked.

**_Are we ready to win?_** Dragoon asked, a grin forming on those razor sharp fangs.

_You had best be ready before you enter the fight._ A tiny voice whispered, what seemed to be a remnant of Razor's good side appeared, Dain by his side.

_We've brought friends._ Falcon said smiling, Talon gave a screech.

_Now end this!_ And all three disappeared, leaving behind a very confused array of people.

The scene that met their eyes was unbelievable. In a square arena, where a blizzard slammed into the barriers from beyond, a small square of people stood above the arena on seemingly nothing but air, staring down at the battlers, three of which were chained by the ankles by a chain that led into nothingness, and all wore strange garments.

"MOM!" Max called waving over the banister grinning, his visor falling into his face.

"Max!" Judy cried in astonishment.

"Hiiii Ray!" Mariah yelled waving, Ray waved back looking amazed.

"Tyson ya better not lose ya' here!" Grandpa snapped waving his kendo stick in the air, and all through this, Jin stood in the background, arms crossed, hidden from view.

'You can do this bro.' He thought silently, Mr. Dickinson by his side.

"Are you forgetting something?" Kat snapped angrily.

Immediately Razor slammed into Amphilyon, causing the bitbeast to howl in pain. Enrique winced.

"Back in the game." Tyson called and Tala smirked.

"Bring it on." He hissed.

"Consider it brought!" Akkiko called. "Falcon, tear him to pieces!" As her blade dove for Tala's, she was about to collide when Enrique's blade split into two, and the newly formed blade slammed into hers from the side. "What!"

"Dragoon, do it!" Tyson yelled grinning as his blade crashed into Kat's, knocking it away from Amphilyon.

As Talon came at Dragoon from behind, it was suddenly blocked by Wolborg and as blades grinded against each other, Tala felt a small smirk forming on his lips.

"Maybe teamwork has something to it after all."

"You can say that again!" Enrique called as Amphilyon dove into Falcon, blocking it from assisting Talon.

"Ugh, I'm suffocating under the clichédness of it all." Meg hissed wincing as Talon was knocked back.

Of course, Kat was now thoroughly pissed by this all.

"**_DIE. ALL OF YOU._**" She hissed and threw up her arms. "Razor! Wind Crash!" She snarled viciously.

A tornado burst into the air and suddenly air was sucked away from the vortex, as the blades of wind cut through all, blades and bladers alike, Kat stood in the midst of it all, crimson eyes narrowed with the prospect of victory.

"Katherine stop!" Dain cried moving forward, only to be held back by Ryan. Glaring once at the boy, he didn't move further, but glanced back helpless at his sister. Then he shook his head, his eyes filled with determination.

"**KAT! STOP IT PLEASE! YOU'RE KILLING YOUR SISTERS!**"

Something shattered.

* * *

Slowly, the vortex around her was falling, she could feel it from where she lay on the ground, Razor's stare pinning her, trapping her in loneliness. 

**_What?_** Razor hissed, his expression became panicked.

"Pain… will never keep me. Never." Kat whispered as air filled her lungs. Standing, slowly, her eyes were resilient.

"And neither will you. This is my mind, my world. Disappear." She hissed lashing out with a wave of her mind, it formed into a strike of wind, and as it sliced Razor, disguised in her very own image, Razor gaped, then, she could have sworn he smiled, just the briefest of smiles.

He disintegrated into a thousand particles of light.

* * *

Immediately Kat gave an unearthly shriek, and suddenly the tornado died. 

Razor gave a howl of fury, before the darkness seeped from his fur and fell to the ground like ink.

And suddenly, all was quiet, because Kat straightened, her blade stood still, spinning in a single spot.

Then she lifted her head, her eyes opened.

Enrique flew across the ground pulling her into his arms. Tears formed in Kat's clear eyes, and she smiled, the darkness falling from her body.

"It's not over." She whispered, and immediately all blades flew into action.

"We need a contingency plan." Meg called as she quickly dodged Tyson's attack and was immediately struck from behind by Kat.

"I'm open for suggestions." Akkiko muttered as she quickly dodged both a strike from Tala and Enrique and swerved to meet their next attack.

"Kill the bladers?"

"Can we get to them?"

"It's that or we're done for."

"Consider it done." Akkiko conceded and suddenly flew forward, her blades before her, at Tala.

"Oh no you don't." Brian hissed pulling a throwing knife from his pocket, immediately it sparked with a flare of white wind, and he threw it down, it passed through the invisible floor and slammed in front of Akkiko forcing her to skid in her attack and she stumbled.

Oliver readied his bow, notched an arrow and aimed downwards.

"For teamwork." He whispered and loosed, it flared in color and slammed into Akkiko's chest dead on. She froze.

Suddenly Ryan made his move, dashing forward, towards the girl he loved.

* * *

"Pesky children…" Evan hissed, his expression full of hate. 

Slowly, Akkiko blinked, then glanced up at him.

"Evan…" She whispered softly, and Falcon, bearing Evan's face glanced at her, his expression softened.

"Yes precious?"

"… you're only human." She whispered, Falcon blinked. Something wasn't…

"And if I am?"

"You're a memory." She whispered. Falcon unwove his arms from around her neck, now something was definitely wrong.

"… and as a memory… stay where you belong." Suddenly her hand whipped to her chest and tore something from it. An arrow.

Spinning around, she slammed it into Evan's chest, her face determined.

"Wha-?" Falcon gasped as the image faded.

"In my mind." Akkiko finished and backed up, smiling softly. "Falcon. This ends. Now." She whispered, and didn't move as Falcon shattered into thousands of shards, each disintegrating into dust.

* * *

Meg glanced around helpless for aid, and found none as Falcon suddenly slammed into her blade, sending it into the air. 

Akkiko, slumped in the arms of Ryan and Tala, opened her eyes, and glanced up, her expression disbelieving.

"Ryan… Tala?"

"Right here." Both said immediately, then frowned at the other. Akkiko smiled.

"Ryan… meet my light." Ryan made a face, then smiled and released her so that Tala could hold her fully. His expression softened and he turned towards Meg.

"My fight." Tyson said softly. Enrique nodded and Amphilyon backed away. Tala shrugged and called Wolborg back to his hand.

Both Akkiko and Kat's blade had stopped spinning and lay silently on the ground, slowly fading away.

Meg glanced at Tyson, and smiled.

"Tyson… I wish you could feel what I feel. Clarity, undying sense of freedom. It's… wonderful."

"It's also lonely." Tyson pointed out calmly, and Meg frowned.

"You would never understand."

"I don't want to." Tyson retorted and Meg shook her head.

"You're naïve."

"And you're stalling, let's get this over with!" He challenged. "Dragoon!" He cried calling his blade into action, it immediately swerved, shooting up chunks of the floor into the air and slammed into Meg's blade, faltering under the attack, Talon in his material form winced.

_**Kit, retreat, we can't manage-!**_

"NO." Meg hissed venomously, her expression filled with fury. "I will not back down to some arrogant little punk who thinks he can beat me! Nothing will stall my hand, ever!"

"_When you close your eyes, dream for me, dream for me…_" The melody suddenly took to the air, stunned, everyone turned to the source, to find Erin hands clasped in front of her chest, eyes closed, singing softly.

"_Dream for me of fields and flowers, sing for me of lilies and birds, wish for me a field of dreams._" She sang clearly, and her eyes opened, intent on Meg.

"_And when I sleep the final sleep, dream no longer for me for me, dream of me and then you'll see… I'll dream of you, of you, my precious one, I'll dream of you, and your future, so dream for you, for you for you, dream for you and for the one you love._"

* * *

Slowly, Meg, raveled in her mother's hug, or rather, Talon baring her mother's image, raised her head, her dead eyes slowly coming to life, and softly, she whispered the words. 

"_When you close your eyes…_"

* * *

Tyson stared, amazed as Meg lost the clarity in her eyes, her hand drooped a little, lying limply at her side as Erin began the song anew, and Meg sang with her, softly. 

"…_dream for me, dream for me… Dream for me of fields and flowers, sing for me of lilies and birds, wish for me a field of dreams._"

* * *

"Magoto?" Her mother whispered, confused. Meg glanced at the familiar face, tears streaming down her cheeks, and she smiled. 

"And when I sleep the final sleep, dream no longer for me for me, dream of me and then you'll see…" Slowly, getting to her feet, she staggered upright, then glanced at her mother a final time. "I'll dream of you, of you my precious one, I'll dream of you, and your future. So dream for you, for you…" Wrenching her bow upright suddenly she aimed it at her mother's chest and hissed the last line.

"Dream for me and for the one I love."

She loosed.

* * *

Falling to her knees, Meg glanced up in time to see Talon shriek. 

_**NO! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED LIKE THIS! I WILL NOT-!**_

"GO TO HELL!" Tyson snarled. "DRAGOON! PHANTOM HURRICANE!" His blade flew at Talon's, and slamming it into the air, summoned a tornado of wind, before suddenly Dragoon flew into the air itself, and slammed straight down through Talon in the middle of the hurricane,

It shattered.

Talon shrieked, and dissolved into darkness, leaving only the pure side remaining.

And Meg sat there, huddled on the ground, sobbing.

"Meg?" Tyson whispered as Dragoon returned to his hand and he ran for the girl, reaching her the same time Erin did. As she felt soft hands pressing against her back, Meg glanced up, and smiled softly, ignoring the tears on her face.

"The last time I heard that song" She whispered in a hoarse voice. "was before my mother died." And Erin smiled at her and hugged her sister tightly.

"The last time I heard it, was before you left." She said smiling and held her sister tightly, Tyson fell to his knees and held her tight, so grateful that at last, this was all over.

"Well done, all of you." Mr. Dickinson said softly, his face gleaming pride as the barrier around Kai, Robert, Ian and the others dissipated, lowering the group slowly onto the ground. As Max ran to his mother and the All Starz, Ray greeted the White Tigers, laughing as Gary crushed him in a hug and Kevin bit his lip against tears, Li slapping him on the back and Mariah grinning.

Kai and the Demolition Boys shared a quick smirk with each other as the Majestics consoled their respective guardians. Jin and Grandpa shared a smile of proud joy, Dain, Ryan and Erin met up grinning, and as for the others….

Akkiko smiled at Tala, laughed and held him close, Kat smiled softly at Enrique, and fell deeper into his hug, and Erin slid back a little so that Tyson could support Meg easier, her head resting against his chest.

"It's over." She whispered.

_**Not quite.**_

Tyson was slammed away from Met by a force and thrown back, Erin quickly followed and was caught by Dain who gaped.

Akkiko gasped as she was wrenched from Tala and thrown to the ground, Kat experienced the same, and quite suddenly Meg, Kat and Akkiko were alone.

"Kat!" Enrique yelped dashing forward, only to slam into an invisible wall that sparked blue as he hit it.

**_We… will not… suffer defeat… again!_** Falcon hissed rising from the ground, but what had once been a terrifying dragon seemed now to be nothing more then oozing muck with the vague shape of a dragon.

**_You… will ALL perish!_** Talon shrieked as he too rose from the ground, not fairing any better then Falcon appearance wise, and his red eyes were mad with fury.

**_Now die…_** Razor hissed the last to form and stood, his jaw opening as black ink oozed from between his fangs.

"DAMMIT." Tyson snarled slamming his fist against the wall helpless and Tala slammed his spear against the wall, only to have it shattered and reform in his hand.

But for all their panic, Kat, Meg and Akkiko glanced at each other.

"One last time?" Meg asked.

"One last battle." Akkiko agreed.

"For the Mystics." Kat completed, and as one they raised their weapons.

_And you are not alone_. The light side of Talon formed next to Meg.

_You never were._ Falcon materialized next to Akkiko.

_Nor will you ever be._ Razor snarled, his fangs bared in response as he hunched on his paws next to Kat.

"I have the strangest urge to say 'Titans! Go!'" Akkiko said grinning impishly and Meg and Kat burst out laughing.

"Just this once Ak-chan." Meg relented smiling as they faced the three loathsome bitbeasts.

"Alright! Mystics! Go!" Akkiko yelled grinning as she ran forward, her swords a blur of silver as she rolled away from Falcon's blast of dark fire and smiled as it was countered by another from her Falcon, moving away from the blast, she flipped through the air, and upon landing spun off her foot using the momentum to toss one of her swords into the air at Falcon, whipping through the space, it buried itself into Falcon's shoulder, before Akkiko ran up and sliding beneath Falcon, grinned.

"Game over." She slammed it into his chest, driving it past his ribcage and into his heart.

Meg smirked and ran forward, bow at her side, arrow at the ready, drawing the string back as she ran, she dodged a shot of icicles and leaped into the air, immediately her Talon grabbed her by the back with his claws and flew into the air, giving her an appearance of wings.

"_Shiine_." She whispered in Japanese and loosed. The arrow, encased in an aura of blue flew downwards and slammed straight through Talon.

Kat sidestepped a slash of razor wind and ran forward, climbing onto light Razor as he ran beside her, and together the two dodged the assailing attack as Razor launched into the air. Kat, sliding off of him, drove her spear straight through the bitbeast as she landed.

"… and that's it." Sliding away from the bitbeast, she rejoined Meg and Akkiko and after asserting none were injured, turned to the lamenting bitbeasts.

**_This… can't…_** Razor hissed and Kat's expression turned soft, forlorn.

"Razor… can't you let go of this hate?" She whispered. When Razor shook his head stubbornly, Kat sighed then moved forward.

"Kat?" Meg whispered, Akkiko stared. As she neared the bitbeast, it threw its head back savagely and lunged for her with a feral cry.

Slamming his jaws into her shoulder, he felt the ooze of his being trickle over her backside, but felt something else.

Through the muck on his back, he felt two arms.

Kat embraced the wolf, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Please… stop this."

_You will never end this with hate._ Razor told his other half. The others were silent.

_**I… don't want… to disappear.**_

"Then don't." Kat said softly. "You **are** Razor, you are a part of the bitbeast I love so… please… I want you both by my side." She admitted and hugged tighter, ignoring the pain in her shoulder.

For a moment Dark Razor said nothing, then he relented his bite on her shoulder and nuzzled the wound.

**_For you… kit_**. And he dissolved.

The Razor that remained flared in dark light, before it softened, and his translucent body dimmed, becoming opaque.

**_Would you dare to… accept me back?_** Falcon whispered and Akkiko smiled.

"Of course… without the bad half of my bitbeast… it's been kind of weird. I want this fight done with, I want… I want peace again, with both of you." She said softly, grinning. Falcon glanced at her, then folded his wings and disintegrated, as her sword clattered to the ground, Falcon glowed, shimmering, before his see through scales became deeper in color, the red and black shining brilliantly.

"Don't even ask." Meg said as Talon turned to her, she grinned. "Let's go home. All of us." Talon clicked his feet against the floor, his way of laughing, and shattered as he folded his wings. The Talon left, stretched his solid wings, gave a screech and glanced at Meg, nuzzling her with his beak.

And as the wall disintegrated, Tala, Enrique and Tyson ran up.

"Okay, now I'm sure it's finally-" Meg began when Tyson cut her off.

"SHHH! Don't say that!" All three girls, plus Tala and Enrique stared at him oddly.

"With you girls, the next time someone says that it's over you'll probably have to now battle some inner part of yourselves of something!" He hissed.

They burst out laughing.

* * *

As Jin awoke in his own body once more, he breathed in and lifted himself off the floor, everywhere in the room, others were doing the same. Quickly Jin glanced at the three girls, and smiled as their skin was revealed to be healthily pink. 

"It's a miracle." The doctor whispered smiling at him, and Jin grinned back.

"Ow! I hurt like a mother-!"

"Enrique." Oliver warned sitting up in his bed and the Italian quieted grinning as the nurse quickly ran over with some pain killers.

"How's Tala?" He asked Tyson who grinned.

"Listen for yourself." He said waving his arm in the air and smiling like an imp at the string of Russian curses in the air.

"Just think captain, on the bright side you won't have to train for a while." Ian said brightly to which Tala growled at. Brian and Spencer smirked at each other as they climbed out of bed.

"And the girls?" Ray asked as he glanced over Mariah's hugging form. Max, clambered out of his mother's hold and shot across the room. Kai was already on his feet brushing away a nurse as he followed.

"Meg…?" He whispered poking her prone arm.

"They're hearts stopped for quite some time, the oxygen hasn't been circulating through their body so that may have damaged them a bit." The doctor warned.

"Damaged?" Ryan demanded as he stumbled to his feet, Dain was already there glaring, Erin at his side. Quivering under the fierce gazes wrought upon him, the doctor sweated.

"Anything from sore muscles, to temporarily slowed reaction times-" he broke off at a groan and turned to Meg's bed, said person who shifted, then opened her eyes.

"I hurt… all over." She muttered.

"Meg!" Tyson cried and jumped to his feet, before howling as he stood on his bad leg.

"Tyson!" The others called out exasperated as the blader hobbled to his feet and ignoring the pain, hopped over, Max hastily made way for him.

Enrique moved away from the nurse and grinned as Kat stirred, he walked over quickly, his arm in a half made sling and he grinned.

"Hey sleeping gorgeous." He teased with a wink as her eyes focused on him.

Tala, much to the protestations of the medical staff had ambled his way over, ignoring the odd popping sounds as the painkillers allowed him to slump next to Akkiko.

"Hey." He whispered softly as she glanced at him through hazy eyes.

"T-there is one other side effect." The doctor commented looking nervous.

"What?" Jin asked as he helped Mr. Dickinson up.

"Who are…" Akkiko began, staring at Tala. "Who are you?"

"**Memory loss."**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but OCs and plot.  
Author's notes: This is not the end, there's still an epilogue, RELAX. XD  
And don't kill me. O.O

TRANSLATION:  
Meg's line?  
_Shiine_?  
It means 'die' in Japanese. :D;


	23. Epilogue: Part 1

_"The trio of international billionaire heiresses were recovered and were discovered in the Siberian wilderness… rumors of involved teams of a sport called Beyblade seem to be supported by the fact that the three heiresses are instigated in a BBA medical center. Information released to the public states that the three young girls suffered mild damage in the memory but are otherwise perfectly healthy, aside from being unable to remember their time in the wilderness, they will be released later this week, moving on…"_

Epilogue

Part 1

**A not too distant 12 months later…**

As Amphilyon slammed into the opponent's blade, the bits of plastic shattered into pieces and scattered onto the man-sized dish that served as the stadium.

As the crowds' cheers roared in his ears, Enrique held his hand up, and folded it over his blade as Amphilyon flew into his hand, his eyes blank, he grinned at the crowd waving, observing this all like a dream.

And as he walked back to his seat on the bench, his expression smug, he couldn't help but note Oliver's worried glance, Robert's sigh of frustration and Johnny's half hearted grumble.

"Good job Enrique, that wins us the match." Oliver said smiling at him.

"And puts us in the semi-finals!" Johnny added smiling snidely as he stood, the announcer took to the platform and waved for attention.

"All right ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming to visit today's rounds of the BBA sponsored world tournament! A huge thank you to the anonymous donations from three sources to hold these matches and to the bladers for making this such an awesome tournament!" He cried jovially, motioning to the 6 benches located about the stadium. "Annnd speaking of bladers, lets take a look at which teams are going to make to the semi-finals!" Tyson groaned from his seat, the effort seemed to much, Ray shot him a glance and sighed, before sharing a look with Max. Kai however stood boredly, leaning against the wall arms crossed, and rolled his eyes. Kenny shook his head.

"The boy can't get over her, cupid hit you hard buddy." Dizzi commented and Kenny squeaked before hastily shutting his laptop shut. Not because he feared Tyson's reaction, but because he feared Tala's, who sat less then 10 feet away, even more.

Since that day in the BBA building, when Dain, Ryan, and a fearful 6'5 at least tall man who claimed to be Erin's father took home Kat, Akkiko and Meg, Tala had been known to be extremely volatile unlike Enrique who acted like nothing was wrong, and Tyson who acted mopey. It had been proven quite quickly that Tala, whenever someone dared to mention the names; Akkiko or Mystic, became quite violent.

Ian had the broken and healed nose to prove it. Of course, reading Spencer and Brian was a bit more difficult, but a trained eye could tell they were concerned too for the welfare of Tala.

"If you're unaware of the situation going on, from the 54 teams present, each team must have selected one representative to blade for them in the 6 different dishes, the winner of the match advances his or her team!" The announcer continued as he waved enthusiastically to the multiple dishes scattered in the stadium.

"So far we have three clear victors, quadrant A's winners, courtesy of the blading sensation Enrique, the Majestics advance!" Enrique stood and waved again, and Robert sighed.

"The one time I wish he'd lose a battle and he has to win it…" He half muttered and Johnny shrugged.

"From quadrant C, the ever unmatchable and returning champions, thanks to Ray, the Bladebreakers!" Ray smiled at the crowd's impeccably loud cheers as Max, Kenny and Tyson (half heartedly) waved.

"Quadrant E with a record of his three opponents being knocked out in 20 seconds from launch to end, Tala's seemingly unbeatable team, the Demolition Boys!" Brian glanced at Tala who simply folded his arms and slipped his eyes shut in annoyance, his back rigid.

"Wait- hold it, we have a winner for quadrant F, yes he's knocked out his last opponent's blade! Ladies and gentlemen, straight from the British star team, James Lawrence and his team the Queen's Soldiers advance!" A young man with curled golden blond hair, bright blue eyes and a flawless smile waved casually to the audience, his grin easy going. Despite his plaid overshirt and blue faded jeans, he carried an air of sophistication.

"And ladies and gentlemen here we go, quadrant D has just gone underway!" Standing at the platform four blades were released unanimously into the dish. At first things seemed to go normally, until the most noticeable male smirked. With raven black hair falling to his knees in uneven lengths and streaked red, his pale skin was completely covered in leather tight clothes, platform lace up combat boots elevated his height and chains fell in rivets from his body, he rubbed his chin with his black gloved hand and sneered, his crimson eyes amused.

"Finish it!" He snapped.

Immediately the other three blades flew from the dish.

"Whoa! Unbelievable, Axel of The Bishounen has eliminated the competition quicker then Tala! Are the veteran teams in trouble?" The announcer cried excitedly, Kai snorted.

"Sure." He said with a shake of his head, Tala had a similar viewpoint as he glared darkly at Axel. Until the teen glanced in his direction, and as their gazes clashed, Tala felt something stir within him.

Probably just food poisoning.

No wait, he recognized this one, hate. Odd, that was more Brian's gist then his. And then Axel looked away and glanced at his team who happily clapped him on the back in congratulations.

"All right, our final match up in quadrant B is about to begin, the bladers are stepping up… most noteworthy bladers in this set are the White Tigers, All Starz and two newcomers, The Smashers and… well this is odd, I don't have a name for the forth team…" As Mariah, Eddy, a small blonde boy and the strangest figure, wrapped entirely in a black leather coat with a hood that hid the entire upper half of their face, moved up to the dish, they pulled out their launchers and set themselves into position.

Tyson gave a start, a sign of life showing in his eyes as his gaze landed on a blade he would never forget.

'No way…' He whispered staring at the royal blue and tinted turquoise blade.

"Oh hang on…" The announce pulled the memo from the hand of a runner and glanced at it. "Well, the unknown team has just been named directly thus, the Unknowns!"

James, sitting with two other young males glanced at them, expression incredulous, but the boy next to him with copper tinged red hair looked stunned.

Over with Axel who stood with his two other equally stunning teammates, a young male with platinum blond hair and a male with brown tinged red hair and cowboy appearance gaped openly at the cloaked figure, Axel actually slipped and fell.

"That's… special." Johnny muttered.

"Agreed." Robert said sourly.

"How tasteless." Kai commented idly as he closed his eyes.

Tyson couldn't comment.

'That's something they would totally do… wait… too obvious, never mind.' Tyson slumped in his seat.

"Feh, that don't impress me much." Ian muttered.

"If you break into that song I will not hesitate to neutralize you." Tala hissed. Ian winced.

"Oh whatever." Mariah snapped. "Let's hurry this up!"

"You'll be sorry." Eddy taunted as he set to launch.

"3! 2! 1!" The blond boy chanted.

"Let it rip!" The four called in unison and the blades were loosed.

Mariah, Eddy and the boy's blade were slammed into the ground outside of the stadium before even touching the dish, and in the center spun the royal blue and turquoise blade.

"W-whoa! Incredible!" The announced yelped as Tyson frowned, what had that noise he had heard during launch been? It had keened through the air and it was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it…

"And so the newcomer takes it! Can I get a name up here…?" The announcer whispered, and quickly got his wish. "2? His name is two?" He demanded incredulously. "Well… okay ladies and gentlemen, the winners of quadrant B, courtesy of 2, are the Unknowns!"

"Thrilling." Enrique muttered.

* * *

Tyson stared at the board… well… boredly.

"6 teams eh…?" Max commented by his side.

"Yeah…" Ray commented glancing at the board as well. "The Majestics, Demolition Boys, us, Bishounen, Queen's Soldiers and the Unknowns."

"Oh for heaven's sake…" Came a soft and elegant voice. Turning, Tyson found the Bishounen staring at the board with disgust.

"This is all such a pointless hassle… can't we just get this over with?" The voice continued, it came from a young male who was tall, slender with platinum blond hair and icy green eyes. His body was adorned in a loose white dress shirt, black tight pants and fingerless black gloves.

"Awww, y'all taken the fun outta the sport Kyodo." A smug and Texan accented voice commented. The male tilted his cowboy hat up revealing a pair of taunting brown eyes slightly tanned skin and bangs. His body was adorned in a leather hide tan colored jacket, and complete with cowboy boots had a shotgun slung over his shoulder, which Tyson realized with a start was his launcher.

"Be quiet Mithos." Kyodo said dimly.

"This is stupid…" Axel muttered kicking a can at the ground and sending it flying in the distance.

Eventually as all things must do, it came to a stop.

Against Tala's head.

The Majestics who happened to be passing down the hallway at this time stared.

Tyson sweatdropped as Kai smirked.

This would not end well. Tala turned his glare onto Axel who glanced at him with a bit of a sweatdrop.

"Er… I gotta go give my blade a polish, see you guys!" Axel quickly yelped and ran off. Rolling up his sleeves, Tala followed. _Calmly_.

Tyson and Enrique who had quickly mastered their mind speaking abilities after their trip to Siberia both resisted the urge to connect with Tala and warn him not to kill the boy, odds are it would be unfair to the arresting officer.

Instead they turned back to their own personal matters, Enrique to following his team, Tyson to looking back at the board. To the side, Kyodo and Mithos glanced at each other, then sighed and turned back to the board as well ignoring the redhead and their teammate.

Speaking of who, Tala was about to turn a corner when he bumped into someone. Startled, James of the Queen's Soldiers backed up and glanced at Tala, before nodding his head.

"Sorry, I didn't see you." He said amiably and the Russian glanced at him coolly, then shrugged, letting it go. He was seeking a gothic target anyway.

"Bit clumsy ain't he?" A friendly boy with copper tinted red hair asked Tala grinning. His jaded green eyes were friendly, his pale skin flawless and offset by a white shirt and black jeans. "Haven't met yet I think, my name is Dalland Wakersfield." He said holding out a hand to Tala, who bluntly ignored it. Dalland chuckled and let it drop. "Just like the rumors, cool by me." He commented.

"Or maybe he's put out by your horrendous odor." A third voice muttered but in a lighthearted manner. Tala switched his gaze to the shortest of the three, his doe brown eyes were round and charming, set in a boyishly cute face, his shortly cut light brown hair flopped over his eyes and he blew them out of his sight impatiently.

"Terrence Pendragon." He said smiling chipperly. Tala still said nothing and James grinned.

"Anyway, we don't mean to take up more of your time, but we're missing a certain someone, our reserve. He's gone and got himself lost, have you seen him? He's just a bit shorter then Dalland, deep red hair, pale skin-" James was cut off by a strange sound. From down the hallway there was a strangled choke, and then…

WHAM!

Glancing at each other, Tala shot off like a curious fox, the other bladers quickly behind.

Turning the corner, Tala suddenly collided with someone, and this time both went down in a clatter of chains with a crash.

"Watch it you-!" A familiar voice hissed and Tala glanced up into a face he didn't really want this close.

Axel, his face an extremely bright red gaped at Tala, before he scrambled off and got to his feet brushing off his pants hastily, chains rattling as he did his best to hide his red cheeks.

"Well now." James commented idly as they slowed to a stop next to the two. "Hello." James said pleasantly tilting his head at Axel who met his gaze fearlessly. "Aren't you the one who-?" He began when Dalland broke across him.

"Found him!" He cried hauling a boy slightly shorter then him with evenly distributed red hair and mischievous green eyes. Also noticeable as the large and spreading bruise on his face. And from Axel's red knuckles it could be clearly assumed…

"You punched him?" Dalland asked astonished.

"Why on Earth did you-!" James began when Tala, who had stood and straightened himself glanced suspiciously at the red faced Axel and shushed the British blader.

"… why are your lips swollen, both of you?" Terrence asked wide eyed. The unnamed boy smiled victoriously.

"It's nice to see you again." He said cheerfully. Axel hissed.

"Listen you fucking asshole, touch me again… I'LL _KILL_ YOU. I **don't** swing your way!" Axel snarled and suddenly lashed out with his foot. Quickly dodging the blow and evading the kick to his jewels, he smiled triumphantly.

"Why Axel… come now, it was just a kiss-"

"**DIE YOU PUKE MAGGOT!**" Axel bellowed slamming his fist once again into the boy's cheek. Tala raised an eyebrow, that was a nice right hook. James gaped and Terrence whistled and Dalland laughed his ass off.

"You little…" James hissed moving forward and Terrence shook his head, grabbing Dalland and Tala by the arms, he dragged them away.

"It won't be pleasant." He warned Tala cheerfully. "Sorry you had to see that, you'd better just leave, we'll be doing the same… James hates it when people injure his… friends." Terrence commented looking lost for a moment on what word to use.'

"James has friends?" Dalland said sarcastically laughing still. "Too nice, I rather like parasites more." The redhead commented grinning. Tala said nothing but wrenched his arm from Terrence's grip and glanced up, amazingly another team stood across from them. The Unknowns watched their group from beneath their black hoods, and strangely Tala got a weird feeling from the team as the two groups passed in the hall.

That is until Dalland, in a fit of laughing slammed into the shortest one in the group.

Immediately both youths righted themselves, but something clattered to the ground. The bumped Unknown swooped up to grab it with a hiss of;

"Shit." In a feminine voice and straightened quickly clutching the blade to her chest and shot Tala a look.

Tala's face was pale, his eyes wide with disbelief. As the other Unknowns tugged the shortest away, Tala continued to stare.

"Tala?" Ian's voice wafted into his mind and he blinked, freed from his stunned reverie. Glancing at the short male, Tala's wide eyes worried his team as they came up and gathered around him.

"Something wrong with him?" Terrence asked, but was shoved aside by Spender and instead grumbled, irritated.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Brian demanded, his voice icy

"It's them." Tala whispered and Ian blinked.

"What?"

"I just saw Falcon in his blade. They're here, Meg, Kat and Akkiko."

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but plot and OCs.  
Author's notes: The end? Nope, only part one. How many parts are there? You never know


	24. Epilogue: Part 2

Epilogue

Part 2

"I always had a suspicion you were a few parts short of a full blade, now I've just got proof." Enrique commented idly as he leaned against a wall, arms crossed. Tyson, who sat on a bench in the empty, save for himself, Enrique and Tala, room in the Tournament building glanced at Tala, his expression unreadable.

"I'm telling you, I saw Falcon." The redhead hissed angrily, his face turning into a mask of homicidal rage. Enrique waved a hand at him dismissively.

"It doesn't matter what you think you saw, you forget that the girls would never take up blading again, and even if they did they still don't remember us so what difference would it make?" He demanded his eyes harsh. "All you've done is dredge up painful memories we've forgotten."

"**What bullshit.**" Tyson blinked, glancing up at Tala whose voice radiated pure animosity. Even Enrique seemed taken aback. "NONE of us have forgotten them. _Look_ at us, you act normal but you're practically a zombie Fabio." Tala directed to Enrique, then glared at Tyson. "And look at him. He's practically a pathetic doll of human flesh." Tyson sighed and glanced at the floor.

"You're one to talk you anger management addict." Enrique snapped back. "You're maiming people left, right and center for even speaking against you! Just face it Russian, they're gone, they're not coming back, at least I'm acting normal, the rest of you are worrying those who care about you and that's selfish. Move on, they're probably not even here!"

"I saw Talon." Tyson finally spoke. Silence.

"What?!" Enrique demanded gaping at Tyson who glanced up, his eyes showing a spark of life.

"Talon, he was with the blader from the Unknowns in the qualifying round, the one whose name is 2." He explained shortly, then glanced up at Tala. "You say you saw Falcon with one of the Unknowns as well? Then that settles it, the Unknowns must be the girls."

"It makes sense, the last time they entered a tournament they did it under aliases… probably to hide from their families." Tala commented.

"And now this time they're doing it because they were disqualified from future tournaments at the last one!" Tyson said suddenly grinning.

"Oh my god I can't believe you two!" Enrique shouted throwing his arms into the air before bringing them down to tear out some of his hair. This outburst caught the eye of Tyson and Tala who glanced at the Italian.

"Why are you so afraid to admit the possibility they're here?" Tyson demanded.

"I'LL TELL YOU WHY." Enrique suddenly broke out loudly. "BECAUSE EVEN IF THEY ARE HERE, THEY. DON'T. REMEMBER. US!" He shrieked.

"Who says we can't make them fall in love with us once more?" Tala asked calmly.

"… what?"

"We did it once, we can do it again." Tyson pointed out smiling.

"That's great guys, forgetting one detail, back then we progressed along the relationship, don't you think there's a possibility we might slip up, revealing we know a bit more about them then they've told us? And what then hm? They'll think we're fucking stalkers!" Enrique snarled angrily.

"Then we tell them the truth." Tala replied calmly.

"Oh yeah that's brilliant." Enrique muttered as he dropped his hands and jammed them into his pockets, turning around and kicked at the wall. "Just tell them we were their boyfriends in Siberia, totally ignoring the fact they don't even know why they were in Siberia in the first place, and then what? Explain we fought in this great big black void of space with their evil bitbeasts dressed like warriors from the feudal era, and even better that they lost their memories after the battle because they _died_?!" He snapped.

"That sounds stupid, EVEN TO ME." The blond snarled spinning around, his expression pained.

"If you're too afraid to get your hopes up to have them crashing down, you'll never get her back." Tala suddenly commented.

Silence, Enrique gaped at Tala, suddenly vulnerable in expression.

"You have to take a risk to gain anything in life, isn't the girl you sacrificed everything for worth that much?" Tyson asked softly, his face obscured by his bangs as he stared at the tiled floor.

"… yeah. She's worth that much, and more." Enrique whispered looking defeated.

"Then it's decided." Tala declared moving for the door. "We'll try again." He murmured opening the door and stepped out.

Only to be assailed by a pair of icy blue eyes. Stopping short, mildly surprise, the surprise flared into anger as he stared into the aloof gaze of Kyodo of the Bishounen.

"It's rude to eavesdrop." He hissed. Kyodo smirked at him and flipping his blond hair over his shoulder treated Tala to a sickeningly sweet smile.

"You were talking so loudly, I couldn't help it."

"You stupid-!"

"I didn't come here to argue." Kyodo broke in across his enraged yell. "I came to ask what happened to Axel, he's freaked and won't sit still. I heard something along the lines of _redhead_ from his inane babblings, so I assumed he had fought with one of the other bladers." The blond explained idly, his tone distasteful. The noises had caught the attention of Enrique and Tyson who pulled open the door, surprised to find one of their opponents standing outside.

"I've already had a talk with Dalland, he claims he didn't do anything. So now I'm looking in on you, do you know anything about it?"

"Why do you care?" Tyson demanded looking mildly offended at being overheard.

"Because quite frankly this entire tournament is entirely ridiculous in my opinion, and I prefer getting to the point but anyways," he said confusing Tala, Enrique and Tyson. Getting to the point? "the point is that I'm suffering enough, and Axel bitching does not improve it, so rather then sit in the room waiting and growing more frustrated, I'd rather get rid of the problem, which puts us back to the question, do you know anything?" He demanded.

Tala was silent, before shrugging.

"Dalland is right, he didn't do anything. Neither did I. Try checking the Queen's Soldiers' reserve player." He said smirking then moved past Kyodo.

"Now if you don't mind, I've work to do in preparation for the next battle." Kyodo glanced at him over his shoulder, then smiled.

"Your pathetic, by the way." Tala froze, Tyson and Enrique, who were exiting the room stiffened and glanced in Kyodo's direction.

"… what?" Tala's voice was a soft, murderous hiss. Kyodo smirked, his eyes narrowing revealing their true electrifying blue depths.

"You want to fight for a girl, yet you only say you'll _try_? How pathetically weak. If you truly want something, you will **do**, not try. That's my advice." He commented then turned his back on the three bladers and walked down the hall, his hips swaying gently.

"Says the pretty boy." Tyson hissed.

"Damn that guy is more sissy then Oliver…" Enrique muttered.

"I prefer feminine. It procures more elegance then the kind of barbarian word of 'sissy'." Kyodo called back smugly and turned the corner leaving Enrique to fume.

"That bastard just called me a barbarian…"

"They're going to pay." Tala seethed.

---

Unfortunately for Tala, he did not get the chance to make the Bishounen _pay_ as it were.

"If you're just joining us now," the announcer cried. "we have just finished round one of the semi-finals, where a representative of 3 of the 6 remaining teams have just finished battling it out, and the victor was… A of the Unknowns." The announcer said cringing. "Give a hand to the runner ups, Mithos of the Bishounen and Terrence of the Queen's Soldiers!" As applause rose from the stands, Mithos kicked at the ground, his expression furious, Axel shrugged as Kyodo sighed and face palmed.

Dalland and James patted Terrence on the back as he slumped on his bench, looking sulky.

"And ladies and gentlemen… we've just had word! The battle between Ray of the Bladebreakers, Johnny of the Majestics and Brian of the Demolition Boys has ended in a 3-way tie!"

Tala, Kai and Robert sighed. So much for winning through with a quick victory.

"The judges have just decided to proceed to a 4-way final match up between the winning teams!" The announcer began, but paused as a cloaked figure approached the judges. For a moment Mr. Dickinson, who sat in the middle of the table chatted in a low voice with the cloaked member, who was clearly the only remaining unnamed Unknown team member. Then Mr. Dickinson stood and the person stepped back, allowing the man to talk.

"The Unknowns have a proposition for the three teams, The Bladebreakers, the Demolition Boys, and the Majestics." He suddenly declared, speaking in a microphone handed to him by one of the aides.

Said three teams looked to attention, expression intrigued.

"The proposition is thus, a final match of 3 versus 3, the Unknowns versus Tala, Enrique and Tyson."

---

"Okay, if this doesn't tell me those three are the girls I'll eat my socks." Tyson hissed.

"But why us?" Enrique muttered. "Unless…"

"They remember who we are, it could be simply a match up of statistics, they may have betted it on the hatred between Tyson and myself based on the last World Tournament." Tala commented. "And on your competitiveness."

"Then they may as well have chosen Johnny, Kai and Brian, everyone knows that despite their power, they're unable to work together with their _own_ teams, much less anyone else."

"True." Tala muttered. "They might just be betting that we're a weaker combination."

"Look you guys." Ray broke in, moving away from the other three teams gathered in the same room. "Whatever the reason, the fact still stands they've challenged all three of you for the championship."

"That's right, are you taking it or not?" Johnny demanded irritably, but inwardly, he was kind of glad Enrique was showing signs of true life again.

"My question is why is Mr. Dickinson allowing this? If the Unknowns don't win… does that mean there are 3 world champions?" Kenny commented holding his chin as he sat on a bench, pondering.

"Well that alone convinces me the Unknowns are the girls… I mean… he's conspired to get us together with them before." Ian muttered.

Tyson blinked, then his eyes widened.

"That's right!" He suddenly cried jumping to his feet gleefully. "Mr. Dickinson knows about the girls' amnesia, and he stuck us all on Siberia on the island for one reason in the first place, teamwork! I bet he still feels bad about how badly we were all affected when the girls forgot who we were!"

"Seems logical." Tala conceded.

"So that's how it works hm…?" Enrique commented chuckling. "Okay, I'm up for that, we'll accept, and we'll win. After all, if the girls have gotten into blading again, what better way to get their attention by coming out on top, winning against them in a bey-battle, and being good sports about it in the end?"

"Thought about this a lot haven't you?" Max teased.

"Shut up blondie."

"You're blond too idiot." Kai commented.

---

And that would be how Tyson, Enrique and Tala now stood at the platform.

_Remember, to beat them we're going to have to use our… uh…_

_Common point._ Tala finished for Enrique who grinned sheepishly at the redhead.

"Ready?" Tyson demanded as he held out his blader, Dragoon firmly attached to his launcher.

"Born ready." Enrique commented grinning as he held out his shield arm, his free hand gripping his sword.

"Hn." Tala commented he held his gun launcher at point.

"Ready!" The announcer cried. The Unknowns held out their launcher, sure enough all three blades were familiar to the three bladers.

_I got Falcon._ Tala declared.

_Talon._ Tyson said cheerfully.

_Razor._ Enrique hissed sneering.

"3! 2! 1!" And as the announcer raised his hand to signal the start of the match, time slowed.

The crowd's cheers thrummed in the veins, adrenaline surged through the blood, the muscles tensed to unleash.

And throughout it all, every set of eyes were focused on the bey dish.

"LET IT RIP!"

6 blades soared through the air.

Disclaimer: I own OCs and plot.

Author's notes: One more to go… 83


	25. Epilogue: Part 3

**Warnings:** THERE IS SHOUNEN-AI HERE. ... SORTOF. It gets explained in the next chapter, I swear. BUT IF YOU DO NOT LIKE IT, SKIP. Er- kind of hard, I understand, seeing as it has important relevance to the plot… but fine, as soon as it gets to the alleyway part of Axel and the British kid, SKIP. You can read again when it says _And on the street… _

Also, if you do not know what shounen-ai is, it's boy on boy loving. Gay. Homosexuality. GUYS KISSING GUYS. I can't get more obvious then that. XD

Epilogue

Part 3

Leaning over the banister railing of their hotel room's balcony, Tyson glanced up at the stars haplessly as they winked at him overhead.

As a cool breeze caressed his face lightly, he sighed and slumped against the metal poles wondering just how life had gotten so complicated. Deep in side, he felt again the awakenings of a deep seeded hatred against Mr. Dickinson, mostly because he'd gotten him and the others involved with those girls in the first place.

And then of course, followed shortly by the undying gratitude for the very same thing. He supposed when it came down to it, Emily really did have a point when she said human beings were the most illogical species in this world.

Sighing again in a miserable manner, he brought his hand up and unclenched his fist around the small object seated neatly in the palm of his hand to glance at his Dragoon as it flashed in the sparse moonlight.

_Dragoon… do we really have what it takes to win them back?_

"Hey. If you're going to jump at least let me push you for satisfaction." A gruff voice commented in nothing short of a hostile manner. Startled, Tyson spun at the declaration and blinked in confusion as his eyes landed on his stoic captain as the slate haired teen quietly shut the sliding glass door to the room behind him shut.

The easy grin that he had almost forgotten came easily once again to his face and he cocked his head in his carefree manner.

"What? And deprive you the honor of my presence?"

"Yeah, keep talking hot shot." Kai replied arrogantly as he walked to the railing and folded his arms over it, peering down below at the passing by cars. Tyson grinned as he turned back to the position he formally was in to do the same.

"So? What's the occasion oh mighty captain? Gonna kick my butt for not defeating those three weirdoes in the cloaks?" He asked laughing. The memory of today's match replayed vividly in his mind, the adrenaline of the battle not sparing him a single moment of the intense deadlock.

_Evenly matched._

_It was so clear to see that both teams were evenly matched._

_The battle had raged for 30 minutes now, a new record. Each team had thrown everything at each other, though the Unknowns had never spoken, and their attacks were a perfect copy of The Mystics, old Beyblade veterans were beginning to notice and rumors had begun to float._

_But not once, not a single word, had the mysterious bladers ever spoken._

_And along with the crowd's cheers, the battle cries, the roars, shrieks and bellows of the Bitbeasts… there had been something __**else.**_

_A high wailed keening in the air, and as always, it nagged on the back of Tyson's mind during the battle, a sound he felt he should know, but could not place. _

_And then…_

"_Wolborg! Ultimate attack!" Tala's sudden cry took them all by surprise, Tyson and Enrique turned to face the redhead, confused, uncertain._

_Why was he calling out such an overkill skill?_

_Then, Enrique had shrugged and plowed forward, following the redhead's lead._

"_Amphilyon! Strike them down!" He screamed, his blade not yet in it's divided state screaming forward, tearing up the stadium._

"_All right! Let's bring 'em down!" Tyson had called thumbing his nose as he scented victory. "Dragoon! Phantom Hurricane!"_

_And as the three Unknowns crouched, almost subconsciously preparing for the oncoming attack, their three blades moved as one to intercept the blows, all glowing their respective colors of black, blue and white. _

_And then they clashed._

Of course the resulting explosion had not only knocked all six bladers back (though somehow the hoods managed to stay up much to Enrique's dismay) but leveled the blading dish, so much that it was declared a tie and the battle to be continued tomorrow.

After a clean up team was hastily summoned.

"You're still calling them weirdoes even though you're so certain that one of them is a girl you love?" Kai asked dully, the word love falling from his lips like a sour pickle. Tyson grinned.

"Yep. Never said she wasn't crazy." He admitted with a cheerful tone.

For a moment Kai said nothing, but his eyes glanced at the blunnette from the corner of his eyes, and he smirked.

"Welcome back Tyson." He said quietly and straightened.

"Huh? What?" The youth blinked, confused as he watched his captain march off back towards the room. Silence was his answer. Rubbing the back of his head, Tyson stared in utter mystification at his captain's behavior.

"Oh man, he's gone all philosophical again." The blader muttered before chasing after the stoic teen with the infamous cry of;

"KAAAAAAIIIII!"

And Dragoon from his place in Tyson's hand winked in the moonlight.

_**How pleasant to hear that again…**_ Came a darkly amused chuckle.

* * *

Tala stumbled out of the dining room, a look of utter horror plastered on his unusually pale skin. Eyes wide he began a mad staggering run from the room, weaving through the hallway drunkenly in his terrified stupor.

It was only when he crashed into Spencer did he pause to breath, what resulted was a large intake of air and he realized he was now in peril of hyperventilating.

Several minutes later of Spencer sitting on top him (not pleasant) and the blonde frantically calling out a breathing pace, did Tala sit down and accept a cup of water from his subordinate.

"What happened captain?" Spencer asked concern as they now sat in the foyer of their current hotel, their choice of seating a set of a plushy bright sunny yellow arm chairs. Gripping the styrofoam cup with shaky hands, Tala raised his eyes, his bangs looming over them ominously as his unkempt hair fell forward.

'Unnecessary dramatics.' Came to Spencer's mind.

"I was… in the dining room…"

"I saw that." Spencer commented quietly.

"I was thinking out battle strategies… when… those… those damn Europeans came in!" He hissed darkly, his hands crumpling the now empty cup in his fists. Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"And… and… oh my god…" He hissed bringing his hands to his face, with the look of one who has been absolutely scarred beyond all means of salvation.

"… surely it couldn't have been that bad?" Spencer tried tenderly.

His answer was a sharp jerk of Tala's arm in the direction he'd come from.

Taking the hint clearly, Spencer stood and proceeded over to the dining room. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he slid open the door.

But nothing could prepare him for the horrendous site that awaited him.

"This tea is absolutely scrumptious!" Oliver cried delightedly.

"I agree. Not in that context, but I agree." Johnny added and that stunned Spencer. They had gotten the Highlander in this horrible masquerade too?!

"Yes, quite a delicacy, I must ask for the recipe." Robert added in promptly, his fine china cup inches from his lips as he took an obnoxious sip.

Pinky extended and all.

"Oh it's really quite a simple blend of herbs, I'll arrange from some to be flown over from my private home in the country." James Lawrence said quite generously.

Robert inclined his head graciously to the man who nodded in return.

"Really James, you can be such a louse sometimes, but honest to the god above you are such an impeccable gentleman too." Terrence Pendragon said quite happily as he cheerfully sipped his cup.

Spencer twitched. The pinky was out there too!

"Well we never did say he was lacking on manners." Dalland added in to his fellow teammates, his own cup held easily in his hand as he relaxed on the couch with his eyes closed, his dining suit only partially undone, looking like for all the world a model ready to be filmed. "He just happens to have a very incorrigible temper." He said in his dainty British accent.

The room filled with quiet, good will laughter.

Spencer felt sick.

It was then that Terrence noticed the Russian, and smiled. Setting down his cup, he stood and held out a hand to the blonde.

"Well hello, if you're looking for your companion, he quite mysteriously dashed out of here some time ago, quite rude of him actually, we'd just offered him to join us for tea and crumpets as well. Would you like to join us?" He offered cheerfully.

Letting out an uncharacteristic scream of utter horror, Spencer slammed the door shut and his large and unsteady footsteps could be heard as he bounded off.

Terrence looked miffed.

"Well how odd, do you suppose that's some strange Russian custom?" He asked as he sat back down, looking mildly offended.

"Don't take it to heart Mr. Pendragon, all those Russians seem to be the same, nothing but brutes, and I for one am quite offended. Oh my what a lovely flower arrangement!" Oliver crowed, eyeing the centerpiece of daisies and magnolias with stars in his eyes.

"Oh you think so? How splendid! Someone who shares my love for floral arrangements!" Terrence cried happily jumping at the topic of conversation.

Spencer clutching his aching temple, ambled his way to where he'd left Tala.

By all the gods and lords above that had been terrifying… he thanked every spirit known to man and blessed Voltaire for being merciful for not forcing them to endure _that_ kind of torture. It was then he came to a realization.

Crumpled cup on the ground, the door open to the windy night streets, Tala was gone.

* * *

"You loved me once before… why not now?" Came a smug and arrogant voice.

"**I. Said. Get LOST.**" Came the frustrated growl. The first speaker, with his bright red hair and mysterious green eyes smiled at the gothic and angry faced Axel.

"Not until I get an answer." The redhead persisted chasing after the goth who stormed down the streets of the city, cars whipping by them, wind blowing in their faces, neither seemed to relent.

"Because that was before I discovered you were a lying, cheating, shallow bastard." Axel hissed darkly his eyes growing dark. "Now back off!" He snarled as he suddenly took a sharp turn into an alleyway. The youth followed like a persistent shadow.

"Well that's not really an answer-" He began when a furious snarl interrupted his speech.

"_**Damn you!**_" Axel hissed spinning around grabbing the teen's hands with his own. "Why can't you leave me the fuck alone Dillando?!" He screamed giving the teen a backhand slap as he spun. Yet before pale flesh could hit their designated target, Dillando's hand shot up, gripping the other's with a smile. In a sparse second the goth was slammed against the alleyway wall, the Britain's hand pinning the two wrists with ease as Axel struggled valiantly.

"I swear to god if you don't let me go…" Axel hissed darkly, his crimson eyes growing dark and narrowing with hatred, he let his warning trail off.

However, Dillando had a different response.

"Just a kiss, just a touch, there's no love… only lust." He whispered softly as he leaned in, pressing his lips to Axel's who spasmed at the touch, his struggles to get free went wild, until Dillando pinned the goth's slender body to the wall with his own. Slowly, the redhead's free hand began to inch up the leather vest concealing Axel's skin. Crimson eyes widening at that as the situation of his helplessness began to sink in, terror began to take hold. Breaking away from the kiss by twisting his head, Axel hissed darkly.

"Dillando don't you dare…" He hissed angrily, his voice trembling from fear. The British blader smiled.

"You never minded before…"

"You never went past kisses before, these last few years weren't for nothing, I won't let you destroy who I've become!" He snarled defiantly and Dillando laughed, rich laughter filled with honest to god amusement.

"And what have you become _Axel_?" He demanded, accenting the name. "Calling yourself that atrocious title, dressing like some American sod… _look at you_." He whispered. "You're so sad… you will forever be alone, you will forever be shadowed, you will forever be distanced from those around you, you will only have me." He hissed as he leaned in, his hand pushed up the black thick fabric around the boy's waist. Axel struggled, but all to avail, he couldn't move as he felt Dillando's hands inch along his skin.

Terror took a firm hold now.

Feeling something wet slide along his cheek, Axel choke.

Oh perfect.

Pinned, helpless, about to be raped, and he was _crying_.

His ex really had everything back now. His body, his pain, his fear.

"Hey asshole." A voice commented lightly, in a weather-comment voice almost. Startled, Dillando turned to look at the speaker, and his eyes widened as he saw a familiar flash of red, before he was slammed back four feet, landing on the grimy concrete only to skid another six as the intruder glared.

"Rape that." Tala hissed turning to Axel who stood there, arms around himself as he stared in absolute shock.

"You're…" He managed out before he bit his bottom lip, a single tear track still lingering on his cheeks.

Raising an eyebrow, he moved forward a single step.

"Can you walk? We should leave." He said quietly. His response was having the wind knocked out of him and his shoulders being slammed into the wall behind him as Axel buried himself in Tala's chest, using the Russian to muffle his strangled sobs. Startled, Tala stood that way for a few minutes, before he awkwardly raised an arm and put it around the trembling goth.

"Uhm… I hate to intrude on your… shock phase, but we really should leave." He said in monotone, and stopped when Axel looked up at him. Something inside him stirred, similar to what he had felt earlier today, but something wasn't quite right.

He paled. The difference was clear, what had Spencer said to Brian once?

"_Better be careful. Scientific studies have proven that the chemical reaction that triggers the hate emotion, is but a mere step away from love."_

"_So is the obsessive compulsive disorder." Ian threw in laughing._

The hate from this afternoon had faded, staring now at Axel's tear stricken face, the vulnerability that had been hidden by the cockiness and attitude left Tala with a fierce desire to protect the lonesome boy.

'But what about…?' He thought desperately, his mind trailing back to the lively and cheerful girl he'd loved a little more then a year ago.

"Shit… you didn't see this… I am _so_ not crying." Axel hissed wiping at his tears roughly, his hands getting angrier with every swipe as he continued to cry.

Tala said nothing.

"Dammit… dammit… dammit, dammit, DAMMIT." The dark haired teen snarled, his volume rising with each hissed word.

He paused when Tala grabbed one wrist, glancing up, stunned, he found the redhead looking at him with soft eyes as he gently thumbed away a tear that slid down the goth's cheek.

'… screw the past.' Tala thought softly, before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Axel's lips.

The goth froze, what before had been a harsh and invasive kiss, the one now was soft, caressing, and most of all gentle.

Before long, Axel had his eyes closed, and his arms wrapped of their own free will about the taller youth's as he kissed the male heedlessly, no longer caring.

_And on the street…_

Three teens walked down the sidewalk, a familiar dark cloak about their shoulders, but the hoods off.

"You have _got_ to be more careful with Talon dammit! We blew apart the stadium this afternoon, so we have _got_ to be more careful!" The speaker announced calmly, flicking a strand of blonde hair over their shoulder.

"Hey, you know that wasn't our fault!" The one berated said in protest, then smiled.

"But you know, I can **not** wait till we reveal who we are to those guys! They are going to be so damn shocked honestly." There was a quick round of laughter.

"Well I hope this works out… this last year has been a complete hell." The first speaker agreed. "But… the memories are back, and now it's time to act on them!" Came the triumphant declaration following by a nod of satisfaction form the other. Then they paused when they realized something. Their third member was missing.

"What the…?" The first speaker muttered turning, then spotted their shortest member some ways away, she stood at the entrance of an alleyway, eyes wide.

"What the…?" The speaker repeated as their foots started forward. Cupping hands around their mouth, the speaker called the person's name, until they realized the girl wasn't listening. Sighing as they came to a halt next to her, the blonde smacked her upside the head, getting a startled wince.

"Hey…" She whined softly, but was pale.

"Dammit brat what's the hold up? We need to get ready for our match tomorrow so-"

"… oh my god." The one with reddish brown hair whispered cupping a hand to their mouth. Turning on the Unknown, the blond frowned.

"What's up?" The reply was a simple point, and when the blond looked, their eyes widened, face paling.

"… oh no." Glancing at the girl to gauge her reactions, the blond immediately knew this was bad, there was a paleness in her skin, and she stood there, unmoving. "Oh damn, move her, get her away from here now!" The leader hissed as their hand latched firmly onto the girl's. Hauling her away, the other followed shortly, eyes trailing as they dashed off on the two in the alleyway.

Tala and Axel.

"Oh my god… this isn't… oh shit, ohshitohshit!" The brunette whispered staring at the girl repeatedly. "J-just ignore it okay kid? It didn't mean anything!"

"Yeah." The blond hissed, their eyes narrowing. "Not a damn thing." Wincing, the brunette shook their head, then said in a dark hiss;

"But that double-crossing bastard is **dead** tomorrow."

* * *

Enrique breathed in the night's air gratefully. He'd graciously declined the offer for tea some time ago, and from what he'd heard of Spencer's story room of horror next door (he'd managed to get all the Bladebreakers save for Kai, as well as his own team to listen) it had been the right decision.

Though he had to admit, the thought of Johnny MacGregor, mister-kiss-my-ass-and-lick-it-clean, drinking tea like a civilized person left him wanting to commit suicide. It was just that scary.

Now he was on the rooftop of the hotel that had been provided by the BBA for all bladers and enjoying the cool winds, it wasn't so windy up here, and it was a clear night, monumental for such a bustling city as this.

He turned slightly when he heard the roof door open behind him, and blinked as he saw Kyodo of the Bishounen step out.

When their pale, electrifying, blue eyes landed on him, they widened slightly in surprise and to Enrique's amazement, the blond blushed.

"Er… sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I'll leave." He began and just as he was turning, Enrique laughed.

"Forget it, come over here, it'll be nice to talk to someone." He said idly, the day's earlier insults forgotten. Staring at him miffed, Kyodo finally smiled and walked over, letting the metal door slam shut behind him.

"So what are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be preparing for the match tomorrow?" He asked delicately as he came over and let his hands rest on the railing. Enrique smirked.

"I am, I'm calming myself down so I can actually get some sleep." He said idly as he arched his neck to look at the stars, smiling. Kyodo chuckled softly at that.

"So, you're not a barbarian after all." He commented idly and Enrique gave him a smirk.

"And maybe you're not such a big sissy either." He declared grinning, Kyodo coughed at that, a little irritated, but a smile broke through.

"Fascinating… when out in the battlefield, all of us are so…" Kyodo began and Enrique finished.

"Retarded?"

"Not quite the word I was looking for, but effective." The blonde muttered laughing.

"Yeah, and off the battlefield, it's like we're comrades practically." Enrique commented, then laughed at that. "Comrades… me? Who'd have thought…" He gave a whimsical sigh at that. Kyodo shook his head.

"Well… anyways, what are _you_ doing up here?" Enrique asked now and Kyodo shrugged.

"I was looking for Axel… he always seems to run off when neither I nor Mithos is looking." The blonde muttered grumpily. "It's like baby-sitting."

"Oh… so shouldn't you be looking for him then?" The European Blader asked dully. Kyodo shook his head.

"He'll come back in time, I've grown tired of looking for him. I can't watch him forever." He commented idly, then smiled at Enrique. "But I should tell Mithos I've given up, so I guess I shall be leaving." Enrique quirked an eyebrow at that and gave the blond a crooked smile.

"Alright then, I'll be seeing you." He said with a little wave. "Hey, when this is all over… why don't you come visit me in Italy? We can visit the sights, and hang with some girls, you'd get a few easy." He said grinning. Kyodo had to laugh at that.

"Are you complimenting me on my looks?" He asked batting his eyelashes at the Italian who gaped, suddenly flustered.

"W-what? No, of course not! I was just- STOP TWISTING MY WORDS TO FIT YOUR FANTASIES YOU FREAK." Enrique yelped desperately, and much to his dismay, Kyodo was laughing again.

"Relax, I was only teasing. But I will take you up on your offer, I promise." And with those solemn words hanging in the air, Kyodo took for the exit. But as he opened up the door and prepared to leave, he turned back to face Enrique and smirked, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"But go to sleep soon, you'll need all the help you can get tomorrow." And with that he left, leaving Enrique to stare.

"… you are so weird." Enrique muttered rolling his eyes.

* * *

And on in the darkness of the street, standing all by his lonesome on a street corner, hands roughly shoved into his jacket with his hat tipped to cover his eyes, Mithos stood singing a soft and lonely song.

"_Ma mum's a twirlin' in her grave…_

_Ma pa's a rantin' with his cane,_

_But I dun care pardner, no I dun care,_

_Ma worries are a runnin' like a wild free mare!_

_Dun give a damn 'bout politics…_

_Couldn'a care for them damn straights,_

_Ya see pardner I'm in a real tight fix…_

_Cause the world has got so much hate!_

_So I'll pick up ma hat,_

_Pull on ma boots,_

_Give ol' Bessy a pat_

_And I'm pickin' up ma roots._

_I'm headin' for home love,_

_Headin' for home, ma turtle dove._

_Headin' for you sweets…"_ Mithos trailed off, tipping his hat up with his gun finger as he glanced up smiling.

"Headin' home on my two feet." He whispered.

"Tomorrow's the special day." He commented as he straightened and began the trek back to the hotel.

Disclaimer: I own the OCs, plots and that's it. o.o I lied. Next is the last chapter.

**Author's notes: **Does anyone even read this anymore? I just want to get this story wrapped up.


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